Linux on the desktop is doomed. It can't make it there simply because the F/OSS model has neither a coherent vision of what Linux on the desktop should be nor the leadership or clout to enforce such a vision. There's no Gates or a Jobs beating the drum while the galley slaves row in unison. Without that, individual egos will always run rampant and will never be focussed.
I don't mean to besmirch the F/OSS model entirely. It works fine for individual programs. I written my share of them. But for something as complex as a modern, consumer-oriented OS? Forget it!
What happens if there's a bug and you mistakenly mark an innocent person's house? His life would be ruined, and he'd probably sue you for all you're worth... and win. If I were on the jury, I'd certainly vote to send you to the poorhouse. Unless you're already flat broke, you'd better back out of this while you can!
I'm not an attorney, but I recognize a lack of common sense when I see it.
I got a "free" ($50 - $50 rebate) Canon iP1500 inkjet printer when I bought my iMac. It's really not a bad little printer. The Canon cartidges for it list at $7.50 for black and $18.50 for color. I got generic cartridges for it from InkForSale for one dollar each (black and color)! And I can't see any difference in print quality.
I'll never buy an HP printer again. The HP2000C and its expiring cartridges have soured me on HP forever.
The real problem is not that SSNs are so easy to get but that possesion of another person's SSN gives one so much power to do ill. I think it's time that agencies and institutions quit relying on such a dubious means of identification as a key to perform transactions. Heck, some of them only require the last four digits!
I'm certainly not suggesting something as draconian as RealID. But it should not be necessary to keep one's SSN any more secret than the account and routing numbers printed on personal checks.
It's interesting that they should bring this suit in Indiana. Who knows? Such a crackpot idea might get a sympathetic hearing there. After all, Indiana is the state which, in 1897, tried to legislate the value of pi.
Disclaimer: I grew up in Indiana. I don't live there any more.
My main home computer was a PIII box running Mandrake 10. I switched to an iMac G5 and disconnected the monitor from the Linux box. I'm using the iMac's X Windows capabilities now as a screen portal for the few Linux apps I still use, like KMail. ('Still haven't weaned myself from that one!) The now-headless Linux box also serves as a firewall, backup system, and local mirror for my website.
The iMac just works -- unlike Linux, which constantly required fiddling. I get sound when I want it, and network drives mount and unmount easily. The Mac version of Opera works great, and the freeware editor TextWrangler is fine for authoring scripts and program files.
It's not all roses, though. I still get Postscript errors on my HP 4MV laser printer, which Linux never gave me. And I really don't like having to click in a window once just to gain focus and again to click a button or some other control. Apple's single-button-no-scrollwheel mouse sucks bigtime; but that's a solvable problem, since any USB mouse will function fully with all its bells and whistles.
Thinking beyond the obvious and troubling privacy issues, I'm beginning to wonder if those wanting to stamp out crime completely would really want to live in a society where that wish came true. As the police, armed with tools like intelligent packet sniffers, become more efficient in detecting and rooting out criminal activity, criminals might get squeezed into a smaller and smaller corner of society. I'm not suggesting it's remotely possible, but if the world were so nearly perfect that all and only the truly guilty were ever brought to justice, I think we'd all be poorer for it. There's certain to be enough larceny buried deep in the hearts of most of us that just seeing someone get away with an occasional misdemeanor is a vicarious high, and that the opportunity to fantasize about doing it ourselves is essential to mental health. I'm certainly neither an apologist for, nor an advocate of, criminal behavior; but a world where all criminals are quickly and efficiently swept up and put away would be a miserable, sterile place. Perhaps crime is like the wilderness: even if you never intend to go there, it's nice to know the option is available. It could be that criminals, like mosquitoes and poisonous snakes, are essential to a society's "ecological balance". And as criminals become endangered, maybe we'll see political action groups dedicated to preserving their last remnants.
Perhaps it's time to dump the word "spectrum" as it applies to the public airwaves. The word itself implies a management philosophy that hearkens back to LC tank circuits and passive RF filters. The fact is that technology has evolved way beyond partitioning the airwaves in the frequency domain only. What with frequency-hopping, code division multiple access (CDMA), and ultra-wideband (UWB), viewing this public resource as acreage to be platted and parceled out on spectral boundaries is a tad old-fashioned.
From the photo, the circuit board looks to be no better than prototype quality. It doesn't even have a soldermask, let alone silkscreening. The layout seems rather inelegant, as well. For $140, one has the right to expect a well-designed, commercial-quality PCB. This one clearly is not.
The thing that impressed me about this story is that sound in MEPIS seems to work right out of the box -- across a full spectrum of apps. I'm using Mandrake now, and I'm still fighting incompatible sound drivers that work with some apps and not with others. I desperately wanted to get Skype working on this box, but no amount of monkeying with the audio driver settings got it functioning. I was getting pretty fed up with Linux audio in general after this experience. Now I read that MEPIS even comes with Skype!
The trademark "Magic Cube", as it applies to "manipulative puzzles", is owned by Atico International USA Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. You can find out stuff like that here. The manufacturer/importer of the Magic Cube puzzles in the story is the Toysmith Group of Auburn, WA. This could be nothing more than the rightful owner of a trademark pressing its case against a possibly unwitting party who didn't do any trademark research before naming their product. It probably has nothing to do with Erno Rubik, his expired patent, or any copyrights.
"Figuring out who will and who won't get healthcare is a terrible choice to make."
True enough. Battlefield medics are constantly faced with such wrenching decisions. Having to make such a choice in the face of finite resources is what's known as triage. And it's the unwillingness to admit triage into the vocabulary of government-supported healthcare that dooms such programs to failure. The state of Oregon got it right several years ago when they created an exhaustive list of treatable conditions ranked by their likelihood of successful treatment per dollar spent. Near the top were things like bacterial diseases that respond to common antibiotics; near the bottom, liver transplants for alcoholics. Once they had the had the list and knew how much total money was available for subsidized insurance, they could draw a line. Everything above the line would be covered. Below the line? Tough luck.
No one denied that this was a dispassionate application of cost/benefit analysis. But the feds came in and smacked the program down. Why? Perhaps it was simply too logical for their bureaucratic tastes. But until we face the music that universal healthcare can't be truly universal in the face of finite means to pay for it, no government-supported or subsidized healthcare system can succeed. And any attempts to try will either collapse under their own weight or result in long delays for service, as experienced in Canada and England.
I printed this out on my HP4MV laser printer at 11 x 17 inches. Its 600 dpi are hopelessly inadequate for this test pattern. The best way to print this would be to take it to a print shop that has a good direct-to-film printer (2540dpi or better) and ask them to make a PMT (positive mat transfer) from the file at the highest resolution possible. You'll get a near-perfect print. But you'll pay about $25, and it may not be archival: some PMTs fade over time.
I have yet to see a digicam that has the responsivity necessary for action shots. While the Canon boasts a 4 fps "continuous" shooting rate, that says nothing about the delay between pressing the shutter release and acquiring the first image. And that's the spec that's most important for sports photography. Perhaps by using the camera's manual focus, one can speed up this process adequately; but I'd have to see it to believe it.
The most productive breaks for me are those that force oxygenated blood to my brain, e.g. running, hiking, biking, etc. Of those, the best are the ones that don't require concentration but allow the mind to wander freely.
Yes, it's obvious. You had two chemists who dared to attempt a breakthrough in physics. The physics esablishment went apoplectic. Can you say "territorial"?
Imagine trying to make a portable XP drive do what this one does. You take it to a client's office, boot up, and -- whoops! -- XP detects a new hardware configuration and grinds to a halt until you beg Microsoft for permission to continue. Fat chance they'll suffer your frequent pleas for long!
What's great is that this is a device whose time has come. It's imminent ubiquity seems inevitable, giving Linux a very big leg up on Windows.
Let's see now. That Super Capacitor Battery Pack resides in the trunk, a good 15 feet or more from the electric booster motor. And yet, that selfsame Battery Pack can provide "up to 600 amps at 48 volts to the electric motor for acceleration durations". The maximum ampacity (i.e. the maximum current that can be safely carried without overheating) of 4/0 AWG wire (about 1/2" diameter) is 360 amps for copper. Just what were they planning to connect the two with? A superconducting bus bar?
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Now, had it been an ironed T-shirt, we'd really have a story here.
I don't mean to besmirch the F/OSS model entirely. It works fine for individual programs. I written my share of them. But for something as complex as a modern, consumer-oriented OS? Forget it!
I'm not an attorney, but I recognize a lack of common sense when I see it.
I'll never buy an HP printer again. The HP2000C and its expiring cartridges have soured me on HP forever.
If you need a calendar or a to-do list, you need to change your life, not your software.
I'm certainly not suggesting something as draconian as RealID. But it should not be necessary to keep one's SSN any more secret than the account and routing numbers printed on personal checks.
Disclaimer: I grew up in Indiana. I don't live there any more.
The iMac just works -- unlike Linux, which constantly required fiddling. I get sound when I want it, and network drives mount and unmount easily. The Mac version of Opera works great, and the freeware editor TextWrangler is fine for authoring scripts and program files.
It's not all roses, though. I still get Postscript errors on my HP 4MV laser printer, which Linux never gave me. And I really don't like having to click in a window once just to gain focus and again to click a button or some other control. Apple's single-button-no-scrollwheel mouse sucks bigtime; but that's a solvable problem, since any USB mouse will function fully with all its bells and whistles.
Thinking beyond the obvious and troubling privacy issues, I'm beginning to wonder if those wanting to stamp out crime completely would really want to live in a society where that wish came true. As the police, armed with tools like intelligent packet sniffers, become more efficient in detecting and rooting out criminal activity, criminals might get squeezed into a smaller and smaller corner of society. I'm not suggesting it's remotely possible, but if the world were so nearly perfect that all and only the truly guilty were ever brought to justice, I think we'd all be poorer for it. There's certain to be enough larceny buried deep in the hearts of most of us that just seeing someone get away with an occasional misdemeanor is a vicarious high, and that the opportunity to fantasize about doing it ourselves is essential to mental health. I'm certainly neither an apologist for, nor an advocate of, criminal behavior; but a world where all criminals are quickly and efficiently swept up and put away would be a miserable, sterile place. Perhaps crime is like the wilderness: even if you never intend to go there, it's nice to know the option is available. It could be that criminals, like mosquitoes and poisonous snakes, are essential to a society's "ecological balance". And as criminals become endangered, maybe we'll see political action groups dedicated to preserving their last remnants.
Perhaps it's time to dump the word "spectrum" as it applies to the public airwaves. The word itself implies a management philosophy that hearkens back to LC tank circuits and passive RF filters. The fact is that technology has evolved way beyond partitioning the airwaves in the frequency domain only. What with frequency-hopping, code division multiple access (CDMA), and ultra-wideband (UWB), viewing this public resource as acreage to be platted and parceled out on spectral boundaries is a tad old-fashioned.
From the photo, the circuit board looks to be no better than prototype quality. It doesn't even have a soldermask, let alone silkscreening. The layout seems rather inelegant, as well. For $140, one has the right to expect a well-designed, commercial-quality PCB. This one clearly is not.
Ja, dot's vot attracted me. Und zen Fortran und das Cartenpunchmachine. Gott im Himmel! Der memory uff it alle!
The IRS income tax deadline in 2029 will be Monday, April 16th. I think, perhaps, I'll file for an extension that year.
Yes, #$%^&* it! But I'm ordering an iMac, so expect to be doing less of that soon. :-)
The thing that impressed me about this story is that sound in MEPIS seems to work right out of the box -- across a full spectrum of apps. I'm using Mandrake now, and I'm still fighting incompatible sound drivers that work with some apps and not with others. I desperately wanted to get Skype working on this box, but no amount of monkeying with the audio driver settings got it functioning. I was getting pretty fed up with Linux audio in general after this experience. Now I read that MEPIS even comes with Skype!
The trademark "Magic Cube", as it applies to "manipulative puzzles", is owned by Atico International USA Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. You can find out stuff like that here. The manufacturer/importer of the Magic Cube puzzles in the story is the Toysmith Group of Auburn, WA. This could be nothing more than the rightful owner of a trademark pressing its case against a possibly unwitting party who didn't do any trademark research before naming their product. It probably has nothing to do with Erno Rubik, his expired patent, or any copyrights.
True enough. Battlefield medics are constantly faced with such wrenching decisions. Having to make such a choice in the face of finite resources is what's known as triage. And it's the unwillingness to admit triage into the vocabulary of government-supported healthcare that dooms such programs to failure. The state of Oregon got it right several years ago when they created an exhaustive list of treatable conditions ranked by their likelihood of successful treatment per dollar spent. Near the top were things like bacterial diseases that respond to common antibiotics; near the bottom, liver transplants for alcoholics. Once they had the had the list and knew how much total money was available for subsidized insurance, they could draw a line. Everything above the line would be covered. Below the line? Tough luck.
No one denied that this was a dispassionate application of cost/benefit analysis. But the feds came in and smacked the program down. Why? Perhaps it was simply too logical for their bureaucratic tastes. But until we face the music that universal healthcare can't be truly universal in the face of finite means to pay for it, no government-supported or subsidized healthcare system can succeed. And any attempts to try will either collapse under their own weight or result in long delays for service, as experienced in Canada and England.
I printed this out on my HP4MV laser printer at 11 x 17 inches. Its 600 dpi are hopelessly inadequate for this test pattern. The best way to print this would be to take it to a print shop that has a good direct-to-film printer (2540dpi or better) and ask them to make a PMT (positive mat transfer) from the file at the highest resolution possible. You'll get a near-perfect print. But you'll pay about $25, and it may not be archival: some PMTs fade over time.
I have yet to see a digicam that has the responsivity necessary for action shots. While the Canon boasts a 4 fps "continuous" shooting rate, that says nothing about the delay between pressing the shutter release and acquiring the first image. And that's the spec that's most important for sports photography. Perhaps by using the camera's manual focus, one can speed up this process adequately; but I'd have to see it to believe it.
The most productive breaks for me are those that force oxygenated blood to my brain, e.g. running, hiking, biking, etc. Of those, the best are the ones that don't require concentration but allow the mind to wander freely.
The deer mouse might be dead and the odor gone, but any hantavirus present will live on. I doubt that Febreeze is an adequate antidote!
If it's in a toxic environment, all it'll have to do is look for dead ones on the floor and sweep them up.
Yes, it's obvious. You had two chemists who dared to attempt a breakthrough in physics. The physics esablishment went apoplectic. Can you say "territorial"?
What's great is that this is a device whose time has come. It's imminent ubiquity seems inevitable, giving Linux a very big leg up on Windows.
Let's see now. That Super Capacitor Battery Pack resides in the trunk, a good 15 feet or more from the electric booster motor. And yet, that selfsame Battery Pack can provide "up to 600 amps at 48 volts to the electric motor for acceleration durations". The maximum ampacity (i.e. the maximum current that can be safely carried without overheating) of 4/0 AWG wire (about 1/2" diameter) is 360 amps for copper. Just what were they planning to connect the two with? A superconducting bus bar?