Well, the way to prevent losing people that way is to develop space technology to the point where they can be easily rescued. Somebody falls overboard, you send a boat to pick them up. Somebody drifts away from a space station, see, you just, well... well. We just need to have a real, long-term manned presence in space that happens to include engineering and manufacturing facilities so we can start to actually build things in space. Engineers can actually be there working with materials and processes in space: that will advance the technology by leaps and bounds. All we can do now is shoot machinery off into space from the Earth's surface, and hope that our best guesses are adequate.
I would say that, well, the government wants to project our accomplishments over others in order to help secure more funding... but then it occurred to me that if they want the public to accept more spending on space, all they have to do is start publicizing other nations' achievements. Start talking up the military potential, explain the damage that a terrorist in space could do. Hell, that could jump start the Space Race again and we could find ourselves with a colony on Pluto before it's all over.
Well, I think people generally know an awful lot about Fascism... at least in the U.S. the results of fascist leadership are very well documented: nobody wants to forget the Holocaust, and Fascism is alive and well in the world today. What disturbs me more is how little people know about the social and economic prerequisites of Fascism. That is actually much more interesting, and the parallels between the legal climate of the Weimar Republic in pre-war Germany, and the United States of today, are remarkable in many respects. Not surprisingly, our elected leaders are using many of the same tactics the Nazis used in order justify their acquisition of power. The German people of the time didn't grasp the consequences of voting in Hitler, and we are in much the same boat. As Han Solo once said, "I've got a bad feeling about this."
As far as I know, it is the world's best example of what it is - it is it's own archetype. Isn't that enough?
Nope, because the more something is different from what came before, the more people will try to make it fit within the patterns they already know. And if, while forcing that fit, they should find that the new is lacking in comparison to the old they will criticize it and ignore any benefits they might otherwise obtain. In extreme cases, they will destroy the new, in order that their familiar round not be disturbed. That's unfortunate, but true and, when you take the long view, is why it took us millenia to develop a sophisticated understanding of the Universe. If human beings had been willing to use their heads, rather than fearfully suppress those who reveled in the acquisition of knowledge and understanding, we would be much farther advanced than we are now. Wikipedia would be an historical footnote of an early third-century approach to community-based accumulation and dissemination of information, while today we would all be accessing the Wikipedia Galactica through our transtellar communications implants.
As it is, we don't even have flying cars. Hooray for all the stupid, short-sighted people that have held us back throughout recorded history.
"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" or however that goes. If you're gonna complain about someone else's lack of credibility you'd best look to your own first.
Oh, Intel wants new markets. They need new markets, because the only thing they really had going for them the past twenty-odd years was intense demand for more processor performance. That's still very important, of course, but it is no longer the driving force in the PC market. Besides, Intel may or may not be interested in manufacturing chips for the embedded market, but they most certainly want a piece of the pie: it's huge. Everything from set-top boxes to cell phones to industrial systems, any smart device you can name. I'm just not sure that a behemoth like Intel, with such an incredible investment in one particular business model, will be able to shift to something new, and survive the change. Even IBM, which received such kudos for transforming themselves from a mainframe manufacturer to a global consultancy, is having troubles in their new paradigm. I dunno... like Microsoft, Intel has the resources to be around for a long time, but nothing lasts forever.
Perhaps. But in this case, the vanguard (or rather, "guardians of the truth") happen to be correct. We're all getting the shaft, and it doesn't matter whether the shaft is made of wood or soft rubber, it's still a shaft.
Besides, if you're phenomenally wealthy I don't know of any law that says you shouldn't enjoy it. I mean... what would be the other reasons for acquiring lots of money? Granted, a 767 does seem a bit grandiose, but no worse than the hundreds of millions that Bill Gates' has spent on his various homes.
Frankly, I think a hammock on a jetliner sounds like fun.
"Okay Bob, a nice gentle bank to the right... okay... now swing back to the left... ahh, now you got it. Keep doing that for a while."
It wouldn't surprise me if Brin and Page get a little miffed at this guy for discussing their private jet in public, though.
No, you don't. That's just short-range, line-of-sight jamming. Military jamming of enemy signals (or in this case, friendly signals that we just don't want the enemy to use) is a legitimate tactic used by militaries the world over. And that's not a problem from the standpoint of global dependence upon GPS. What we were discussing was the ability to jam the entire system, which is a tad more difficult.
That's not what I said - I said the EU had given into US demands and modified the system so it is easilly jammable.
Okay. But when you get right down to it, that is actually a reasonable request. Still, if our intelligence services are worth anything anymore I'll be we can turn off Galileo if we want, if it's really that big a deal.
This is largely just posturing, on both sides. Positioning systems are too critical to industrial economies the world over (and the bigger the economy, the greater the dependence) for either side to ever completely shut them off. Sure, I suppose that if someone begins lobbing nuclear-tipped missiles around that might happen, at least partially. But because the capability to disable GPS exists, no power capable of delivering a warhead over thousands of miles would ever depend upon GPS for guidance.
The problem for military thinkers is that GPS just makes location and navigation way too easy. Once it was made available for civilian use, everyone from oil tankers to FedEx to campers began using it, and are now dependent upon it. I would venture to say that disabling GPS, at this point, would cause more economic damage in the short term than a medium-sized war. Oh, I'm sure the capability exists to make GPS broadcasts only work for U.S. military navigation systems, should the need ever arise to disable civilian use, but they'd be fools to use it.
Besides, you don't really "jam" global satellite transmissions. What you do is remotely disable or degrade them at the source, which is what all this is about: who has the authority and ability to do just that. The EU may have granted the United States the power to turn off Galileo, but I doubt it. When push comes to shove, if the U.S. tries to turn off Galileo I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that absolutely nothing happens. Why should it? It's not our system.
The thing about GPS is that, like the Internet it is a remarkably egalitarian technology. It's a tool, a platform, that anyone can use, for purposes not even remotely envisioned by the original designers. Sure, that means terrorists can use a GPS receiver to their advantage, but then... so can everyone else.
On the other hand, Vader could simply call down a Star Destroyer and fire a few Turbolaser blasts at Dell's headquarters to remind them of their responsibilities. Actually, I'd rather like to see that... from a safe distance, of course.
As you might expect, Microsoft's marketing people came up with a number of alternative
ways to acronymize VISTA before settling on Viruses, Infections, Spyware, Trojans and Adware:
When the military wants to reserve a technology or a product for its own use, it doesn't patent it and disclose the nature of the device to the world. It simply classifies the technology. Once that happens, you're screwed because now they own it and can shop it around and have anybody else manufacture it for them.
To put this into a geekish perspective: even Palpatine was distrusted by the Jedi from the moment that he was granted emergency powers, which doubled when he managed to stay in office longer than the normal term.
The only difference being that GWB doesn't have a light saber and managed to grant himself emergency powers.
For now. See, after a while, sometimes years, the power of magic incantations fades, and new ones need to be found. The last big one was "communist", and that held sway over us for nearly forty years. It remains to be seen what word or words will next be used to invoke the political spirits, but I expect they'll get considerable mileage out of the three words you mentioned. I won't repeat them here, because there's no point in giving the Feds a karma boost they don't deserve.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, the way to prevent losing people that way is to develop space technology to the point where they can be easily rescued. Somebody falls overboard, you send a boat to pick them up. Somebody drifts away from a space station, see, you just, well ... well. We just need to have a real, long-term manned presence in space that happens to include engineering and manufacturing facilities so we can start to actually build things in space. Engineers can actually be there working with materials and processes in space: that will advance the technology by leaps and bounds. All we can do now is shoot machinery off into space from the Earth's surface, and hope that our best guesses are adequate.
I would say that, well, the government wants to project our accomplishments over others in order to help secure more funding ... but then it occurred to me that if they want the public to accept more spending on space, all they have to do is start publicizing other nations' achievements. Start talking up the military potential, explain the damage that a terrorist in space could do. Hell, that could jump start the Space Race again and we could find ourselves with a colony on Pluto before it's all over.
Yes, but they discarded it because you can't push on a rope.
That tiny XBRITE display is easily readable, despite the number of pixels squeezed into close company
He means "because of" the number of pixels. Presumably Sony is doing some anti-aliasing on the fonts to improve readability.
Well, I think people generally know an awful lot about Fascism ... at least in the U.S. the results of fascist leadership are very well documented: nobody wants to forget the Holocaust, and Fascism is alive and well in the world today. What disturbs me more is how little people know about the social and economic prerequisites of Fascism. That is actually much more interesting, and the parallels between the legal climate of the Weimar Republic in pre-war Germany, and the United States of today, are remarkable in many respects. Not surprisingly, our elected leaders are using many of the same tactics the Nazis used in order justify their acquisition of power. The German people of the time didn't grasp the consequences of voting in Hitler, and we are in much the same boat. As Han Solo once said, "I've got a bad feeling about this."
.45 caliber penicillin, applied directly to the spammer's kneecaps.
As far as I know, it is the world's best example of what it is - it is it's own archetype. Isn't that enough?
Nope, because the more something is different from what came before, the more people will try to make it fit within the patterns they already know. And if, while forcing that fit, they should find that the new is lacking in comparison to the old they will criticize it and ignore any benefits they might otherwise obtain. In extreme cases, they will destroy the new, in order that their familiar round not be disturbed. That's unfortunate, but true and, when you take the long view, is why it took us millenia to develop a sophisticated understanding of the Universe. If human beings had been willing to use their heads, rather than fearfully suppress those who reveled in the acquisition of knowledge and understanding, we would be much farther advanced than we are now. Wikipedia would be an historical footnote of an early third-century approach to community-based accumulation and dissemination of information, while today we would all be accessing the Wikipedia Galactica through our transtellar communications implants.
As it is, we don't even have flying cars. Hooray for all the stupid, short-sighted people that have held us back throughout recorded history.
Indeed. I had not realized that wearable Faraday shielding had become so popular.
"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" or however that goes. If you're gonna complain about someone else's lack of credibility you'd best look to your own first.
I needed to get the pinouts for different styles of Ethernet and phone connections, and Wikipedia came through with flying colors. So there.
I tried, really, I tried. But I had a couple of beers and ... well. My judgment lapsed and I hit Submit.
Oh, Intel wants new markets. They need new markets, because the only thing they really had going for them the past twenty-odd years was intense demand for more processor performance. That's still very important, of course, but it is no longer the driving force in the PC market. Besides, Intel may or may not be interested in manufacturing chips for the embedded market, but they most certainly want a piece of the pie: it's huge. Everything from set-top boxes to cell phones to industrial systems, any smart device you can name. I'm just not sure that a behemoth like Intel, with such an incredible investment in one particular business model, will be able to shift to something new, and survive the change. Even IBM, which received such kudos for transforming themselves from a mainframe manufacturer to a global consultancy, is having troubles in their new paradigm. I dunno ... like Microsoft, Intel has the resources to be around for a long time, but nothing lasts forever.
I already did. Nothing changed, and I don't expect anything about bad management to change in the near future either.
Unfortunately, when it comes to unwarranted surveillance of the public at large, our leaders tend to follow whatever yours are doing.
Perhaps. But in this case, the vanguard (or rather, "guardians of the truth") happen to be correct. We're all getting the shaft, and it doesn't matter whether the shaft is made of wood or soft rubber, it's still a shaft.
Besides, if you're phenomenally wealthy I don't know of any law that says you shouldn't enjoy it. I mean ... what would be the other reasons for acquiring lots of money? Granted, a 767 does seem a bit grandiose, but no worse than the hundreds of millions that Bill Gates' has spent on his various homes.
... okay ... now swing back to the left ... ahh, now you got it. Keep doing that for a while."
Frankly, I think a hammock on a jetliner sounds like fun.
"Okay Bob, a nice gentle bank to the right
It wouldn't surprise me if Brin and Page get a little miffed at this guy for discussing their private jet in public, though.
Yes, you do
No, you don't. That's just short-range, line-of-sight jamming. Military jamming of enemy signals (or in this case, friendly signals that we just don't want the enemy to use) is a legitimate tactic used by militaries the world over. And that's not a problem from the standpoint of global dependence upon GPS. What we were discussing was the ability to jam the entire system, which is a tad more difficult.
That's not what I said - I said the EU had given into US demands and modified the system so it is easilly jammable.
Okay. But when you get right down to it, that is actually a reasonable request. Still, if our intelligence services are worth anything anymore I'll be we can turn off Galileo if we want, if it's really that big a deal.
This is largely just posturing, on both sides. Positioning systems are too critical to industrial economies the world over (and the bigger the economy, the greater the dependence) for either side to ever completely shut them off. Sure, I suppose that if someone begins lobbing nuclear-tipped missiles around that might happen, at least partially. But because the capability to disable GPS exists, no power capable of delivering a warhead over thousands of miles would ever depend upon GPS for guidance.
... so can everyone else.
The problem for military thinkers is that GPS just makes location and navigation way too easy. Once it was made available for civilian use, everyone from oil tankers to FedEx to campers began using it, and are now dependent upon it. I would venture to say that disabling GPS, at this point, would cause more economic damage in the short term than a medium-sized war. Oh, I'm sure the capability exists to make GPS broadcasts only work for U.S. military navigation systems, should the need ever arise to disable civilian use, but they'd be fools to use it.
Besides, you don't really "jam" global satellite transmissions. What you do is remotely disable or degrade them at the source, which is what all this is about: who has the authority and ability to do just that. The EU may have granted the United States the power to turn off Galileo, but I doubt it. When push comes to shove, if the U.S. tries to turn off Galileo I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that absolutely nothing happens. Why should it? It's not our system.
The thing about GPS is that, like the Internet it is a remarkably egalitarian technology. It's a tool, a platform, that anyone can use, for purposes not even remotely envisioned by the original designers. Sure, that means terrorists can use a GPS receiver to their advantage, but then
Yeah. Do you want some cheese with DeWine?
I asked that same question about the MPAA and the DMCA. Still haven't received a good answer.
On the other hand, Vader could simply call down a Star Destroyer and fire a few Turbolaser blasts at Dell's headquarters to remind them of their responsibilities. Actually, I'd rather like to see that ... from a safe distance, of course.
As you might expect, Microsoft's marketing people came up with a number of alternative ways to acronymize VISTA before settling on Viruses, Infections, Spyware, Trojans and Adware:
Vastly Inferior System Tries Again
Viral Incubator Supporting Trojan Attacks
Vandals In Suits Take All
Vermin Infest Systems Throughout America
Virtual Interface Slows TCP/IP Access
Video Is Sluggish Though Awesome
When the military wants to reserve a technology or a product for its own use, it doesn't patent it and disclose the nature of the device to the world. It simply classifies the technology. Once that happens, you're screwed because now they own it and can shop it around and have anybody else manufacture it for them.
To put this into a geekish perspective: even Palpatine was distrusted by the Jedi from the moment that he was granted emergency powers, which doubled when he managed to stay in office longer than the normal term.
The only difference being that GWB doesn't have a light saber and managed to grant himself emergency powers.
For now. See, after a while, sometimes years, the power of magic incantations fades, and new ones need to be found. The last big one was "communist", and that held sway over us for nearly forty years. It remains to be seen what word or words will next be used to invoke the political spirits, but I expect they'll get considerable mileage out of the three words you mentioned. I won't repeat them here, because there's no point in giving the Feds a karma boost they don't deserve.