I thought it was supposed to be hooked up to a web cam inside the fridge so you could tell if the light was on inside when the fridge was closed.
Define overboard:
1. Using a webcam/lcd setup when a little plexiglass window would do the trick.
Reminds me of the old joke about how they developed some amazing technology that allows you to download streaming video at TV quality in real time from the television station to your computer, then output it to your TV.
I used to have to ask people, such as my parents for the answers to things. I'm 23, but I wonder about kids growing upwithout ever having to ask their parents "why is the sky blue" and instead they can just look it up online.
But I think it's important that the Internet has brought information-gathering to the hands of the public. Previously, people got their news and knowledge from schools and TV and newspapers; all compiled and chosen by a select few people. Now they can get information from anywhere in the world, with any number of different perspectives and slants.
The best you could do is random audits to check that the paper count agrees with the electronic count.
Exactly...that's all I want in order to trust my democracy to electronic voting. I don't understand why Diebold is so opposed to having an unalterable paper record. Even if it's a printout of each vote on a dot-matrix printer.
You're right; it is kind of a just-in-case paper trail. But that just-in-case can make the difference. I think the we American folk are more passionate about it, as our recent election mishap put a buffoon in office:-)
2. Maybe from the government's viewpoint "ease-of-counting" is the primary benefit of e-voting. But from the voter's standpoint, it's "don't mess up my vote". If it took a month to count the votes accurately, that'd be better than a count that took a few hours but wasn't very accurate. E-voting has the potential to be accurate, but with the current secret insecure voting systems we use, there's no way for the voter to tell, and that's the biggest issue.
If you're going to print the votes out and count them manually, you've lost both those advantages
We shouldn't only print them out and throw away the electronic data, but Diebold refuses to print things out at all. A paper trail is necessary for proper audits.
3. Not sure what you mean...what's stopping the system from having an onscreen box for write-in candidates?
I have another game, where you plant a tree, wait for it to grow, cut it, and use the wood to painstakingly make a table, using your bare hands and a pocket knife. After all your efforts, you find out that tables better than yours are available everywhere for almost nothing, done by machines.
So you stop making tables. Big deal.
Well why did you make the table in the first place? To make money, or to have a handmade table that you're proud of, and that you enjoy?
Paper-and-pencil arithmetic is NOT fundamentally different from using a calculator.
Paper-and-pencil voting is NOT fundamentally different than computerized/printed voting.
When will people realize this?
A laser printer can fill in a check-box far more clearly and definitively than a person with a pencil can. Most of the problems in florida were due to poorly punched holes on the ballot, where you couldn't tell if they were all the way punched, or if two were punched, or whatever.
Computers do not replace humans. All they do is make things humans do to be less prone to human error (theoretically:-)).
That said, consider the computer/printer voting model to be a simple upgrade to the current punch-out or paper/pencil ballot. It is NOT fundamentally different, but it is fundamentally less prone to human error. With a well-designed GUI and a laser printed ballot, you'd never need to worry that you made a mistake in voting. You would drop your ballot in the box once it was printed, and those paper ballots would be available for counting and auditing.
Why is Diebold so opposed to this? It's clearly in the best interest of the voter and any candidate who wants a fair and square election. Shouldn't Diebold also seek to provide a fair election? The only reason they wouldn't is if they were serving a special interest that sought to undermine public interest.
Well my version of the game is that you practice guitar since when you were 13 years old, finally get a good band together, do a few local shows for free, eventually get a once-in-a-lifetime deal with a record label, sell a million records, only to find that you still owe the record company $50,000 because they spent so much 'promoting' you, and that you can't make any more music until the record company agrees they like it. Then the record company decides to stop promoting you, and you have to do infomercials and mall openings since you're no longer allowed to make music without the record company's consent. Now that's a fun game.
She has an Apple and thus is a neophyte and anyway she would gladly pay for overpriced shit like CDs although she would probably have iTunes anyway being the brainless anti-conformist conformists that Apple users are.
yeah...but you know that's what we were all thinking:-)
Yeah, I'd agree with you there. He may have made some design improvements to the actual cell, but I bet that the positioning is key to the efficiency gains.
Slashdot recently linked to a hardware site that used Flash for its benchmark graphs.. no animation there, just blatantly unnecessary use of Flash.
You don't know that it's unneccesary...those Flash graphs may be templates for database driven graphs, which the site can reuse with different data. Static GIF's might be more difficult to maintain and use than Flash in this case.
You argue later that SVG or something could have been used instead, which may be the case, but it's easier to pick up Flash right now than SVG, and they may have already hada flash developer on hand. Just cause they chose flash over another dynamic vector graphics format, doesn't mean that flash was unneccesary. It's like saying that MS Word was totally unneccesary for making that document, since they could have used Openoffice instead.
Not to mention, you're not a slashdot developer/administrator. If you were, I'm sure you'd have remote access to administer the site, and change the homepage.
The diebold devs have this same ability, although since they're a private company, the public cannot verify this.
Notice there's a difference between ignorance of the law and ignorance of breaking it. IOW, someone downloading songs can't say he didn't know copyright infringement was illegal, but someone using Linux (probably, IANAL) wouldn't be liable if (as is the case) they have no reason to believe they are infringing anyone's copyrights.
But how do you define what is a 'good reason to believe' that you're infringing copyright? Exactly what is traded when you give money in exchange for a compact disc is at the core of the debate.
Is there an unwritten and legally binding agreement between the record company and the consumer who buys the CD which defines the extent of the consumer's rights to that CD? Nothing on the product packaging, inside or out, states how you're allowed to use the digital music files contained on the CD. Software companies try to restrict use by including EULA's that you must agree to. There is no such thing when you purchase a CD containing digital music files, so it's just as hard to argue that a person uploading songs didn't know that wasn't part of the unspoken agreement between him and the record company.
So the real battle is over which party gets what in that unspoken agreement? Other than a little vague fair-use clause and the DMCA, the courts will soon need to determine who has what rights in the trade of money for a CD of digital music.
Essentially, sending a fraudulant invoice through the US mails is a crime
And no, ignorance of the law is not a valid defense. So even if SCO thought they were in the right sending these invoices, they can be busted for fraud. (Just like they're trying to bust Linux users who never intended on infringing SCO's alleged copyright).
The quote was: "There's certainly a lock-in factor," said Matt Rosoff, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft. "Microsoft would love people to use Office and only Office. They made very sure that Office has these features that nobody else has."
You've taken it out of context, and he should have given more context. I think he would have been clearer by saying "They made very sure that Office has these DRM features that no other office program can access."
The quote was: "There's certainly a lock-in factor," said Matt Rosoff, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft. "Microsoft would love people to use Office and only Office. They made very sure that Office has these features that nobody else has."
You've taken it out of context, and he should have given more context. I think he would have been clearer by saying "these DRM features that no other program can access."
Slashdot Mirror
I thought it was supposed to be hooked up to a web cam inside the fridge so you could tell if the light was on inside when the fridge was closed.
Define overboard:
1. Using a webcam/lcd setup when a little plexiglass window would do the trick.
Reminds me of the old joke about how they developed some amazing technology that allows you to download streaming video at TV quality in real time from the television station to your computer, then output it to your TV.
I used to have to ask people, such as my parents for the answers to things. I'm 23, but I wonder about kids growing upwithout ever having to ask their parents "why is the sky blue" and instead they can just look it up online.
But I think it's important that the Internet has brought information-gathering to the hands of the public. Previously, people got their news and knowledge from schools and TV and newspapers; all compiled and chosen by a select few people. Now they can get information from anywhere in the world, with any number of different perspectives and slants.
Fine fine...never again will I underestimate a slashdotter's ability to bend a simpsons' quote to the topic at hand :-)
Okay, I DARE someone to come up with a "Well, I for one welcome our new ________ overloards" post for this story.
Double-dare!
How would someone be able alter a laser printed slip on the way from the voting booth to the ballot box next to it?
Plus, they don't leave the voting area with their slip, and there will not be photocopying machines present anyhow.
The best you could do is random audits to check that the paper count agrees with the electronic count.
:-)
Exactly...that's all I want in order to trust my democracy to electronic voting. I don't understand why Diebold is so opposed to having an unalterable paper record. Even if it's a printout of each vote on a dot-matrix printer.
You're right; it is kind of a just-in-case paper trail. But that just-in-case can make the difference. I think the we American folk are more passionate about it, as our recent election mishap put a buffoon in office
2. Maybe from the government's viewpoint "ease-of-counting" is the primary benefit of e-voting. But from the voter's standpoint, it's "don't mess up my vote". If it took a month to count the votes accurately, that'd be better than a count that took a few hours but wasn't very accurate. E-voting has the potential to be accurate, but with the current secret insecure voting systems we use, there's no way for the voter to tell, and that's the biggest issue.
If you're going to print the votes out and count them manually, you've lost both those advantages
We shouldn't only print them out and throw away the electronic data, but Diebold refuses to print things out at all. A paper trail is necessary for proper audits.
3. Not sure what you mean...what's stopping the system from having an onscreen box for write-in candidates?
I have another game, where you plant a tree, wait for it to grow, cut it, and use the wood to painstakingly make a table, using your bare hands and a pocket knife. After all your efforts, you find out that tables better than yours are available everywhere for almost nothing, done by machines.
So you stop making tables. Big deal.
Well why did you make the table in the first place? To make money, or to have a handmade table that you're proud of, and that you enjoy?
Paper-and-pencil arithmetic is NOT fundamentally different from using a calculator.
Paper-and-pencil voting is NOT fundamentally different than computerized/printed voting.
When will people realize this?
A laser printer can fill in a check-box far more clearly and definitively than a person with a pencil can. Most of the problems in florida were due to poorly punched holes on the ballot, where you couldn't tell if they were all the way punched, or if two were punched, or whatever.
Computers do not replace humans. All they do is make things humans do to be less prone to human error (theoretically:-)).
That said, consider the computer/printer voting model to be a simple upgrade to the current punch-out or paper/pencil ballot. It is NOT fundamentally different, but it is fundamentally less prone to human error. With a well-designed GUI and a laser printed ballot, you'd never need to worry that you made a mistake in voting. You would drop your ballot in the box once it was printed, and those paper ballots would be available for counting and auditing.
Why is Diebold so opposed to this? It's clearly in the best interest of the voter and any candidate who wants a fair and square election. Shouldn't Diebold also seek to provide a fair election? The only reason they wouldn't is if they were serving a special interest that sought to undermine public interest.
Well my version of the game is that you practice guitar since when you were 13 years old, finally get a good band together, do a few local shows for free, eventually get a once-in-a-lifetime deal with a record label, sell a million records, only to find that you still owe the record company $50,000 because they spent so much 'promoting' you, and that you can't make any more music until the record company agrees they like it. Then the record company decides to stop promoting you, and you have to do infomercials and mall openings since you're no longer allowed to make music without the record company's consent. Now that's a fun game.
She has an Apple and thus is a neophyte and anyway she would gladly pay for overpriced shit like CDs although she would probably have iTunes anyway being the brainless anti-conformist conformists that Apple users are.
:-)
yeah...but you know that's what we were all thinking
And Anandtech has a good article up, as well.
Yeah, I'd agree with you there. He may have made some design improvements to the actual cell, but I bet that the positioning is key to the efficiency gains.
Slashdot recently linked to a hardware site that used Flash for its benchmark graphs.. no animation there, just blatantly unnecessary use of Flash.
You don't know that it's unneccesary...those Flash graphs may be templates for database driven graphs, which the site can reuse with different data. Static GIF's might be more difficult to maintain and use than Flash in this case.
You argue later that SVG or something could have been used instead, which may be the case, but it's easier to pick up Flash right now than SVG, and they may have already hada flash developer on hand. Just cause they chose flash over another dynamic vector graphics format, doesn't mean that flash was unneccesary. It's like saying that MS Word was totally unneccesary for making that document, since they could have used Openoffice instead.
...types the unbathed linux nerd sitting at his overclocked watercooled dual athlon and masturbating to hentai porn
what... what the?!... how'd you know...?
oh, d'oh! forgot to turn off my webcam.
Because really, if it's unjust to do it to a 12-year-old girl, it's unjust to do it to anyone.
:-)
Ummmm...wow...don't ever be a politician, as you don't quote well when taken out of context
Not to mention, you're not a slashdot developer/administrator. If you were, I'm sure you'd have remote access to administer the site, and change the homepage.
The diebold devs have this same ability, although since they're a private company, the public cannot verify this.
Notice there's a difference between ignorance of the law and ignorance of breaking it. IOW, someone downloading songs can't say he didn't know copyright infringement was illegal, but someone using Linux (probably, IANAL) wouldn't be liable if (as is the case) they have no reason to believe they are infringing anyone's copyrights.
But how do you define what is a 'good reason to believe' that you're infringing copyright? Exactly what is traded when you give money in exchange for a compact disc is at the core of the debate.
Is there an unwritten and legally binding agreement between the record company and the consumer who buys the CD which defines the extent of the consumer's rights to that CD? Nothing on the product packaging, inside or out, states how you're allowed to use the digital music files contained on the CD. Software companies try to restrict use by including EULA's that you must agree to. There is no such thing when you purchase a CD containing digital music files, so it's just as hard to argue that a person uploading songs didn't know that wasn't part of the unspoken agreement between him and the record company.
So the real battle is over which party gets what in that unspoken agreement? Other than a little vague fair-use clause and the DMCA, the courts will soon need to determine who has what rights in the trade of money for a CD of digital music.
https://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/MailFr audComplaint.htm
heh...one of the choices for the subject of your complaint is "Medical Quackery".
Essentially, sending a fraudulant invoice through the US mails is a crime
And no, ignorance of the law is not a valid defense. So even if SCO thought they were in the right sending these invoices, they can be busted for fraud. (Just like they're trying to bust Linux users who never intended on infringing SCO's alleged copyright).
What does Esquire mean? Does it just mean "lawyer" ?
The quote was: "There's certainly a lock-in factor," said Matt Rosoff, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft. "Microsoft would love people to use Office and only Office. They made very sure that Office has these features that nobody else has."
You've taken it out of context, and he should have given more context. I think he would have been clearer by saying "these DRM features that no other program can access."
Anyone else think of the RPG game The Aethra Chronicles when they read the title of this article?
Of course I wouldn't really wish either of those things on somebody.
And I didn't say "I hope you turn into a prison rapist", so I don't understand your argument about you becoming a pedophile.