People spending $1000 on an app that does nothing but be expensive underscores the idea that the iPhone is a useless toy for people to show off extravagance.
Well it's not useless, but other than that you sound exactly right to me.
Apple doesn't believe in the free market. If it did, you could buy an iPhone without a contract and install any application you want - like all the other smartphones on the market.
I don't think free market means what you think it does. It means that Apple are free to sell at the price they choose and that you don't have to buy it if you don't like the price!
There is nothing inherent in a "free market" concerning restrictions that a company imposes. They don't have to sell you anything, they choose what product to sell.
This may be a shock for you but there are other communications devices available - if you don't like the package, buy one of the other ones!
I thought the possible positions was more like 10^45.
Also, the random pawn move thing was supposed to be humorous. Though I have been known to throw a large piece (I don't compete) just to baffle the opposition.
The only "clever" algorithm is evaluating the positions (rather difficult in Chess).
With a DB of games couldn't you just use the move that wins most often, weighted by the ability of the player that chose the move (Bayesian I guess)? That should do pretty well.
If you can't compute a move then just move a random pawn... that's what I do!
If you don't work at the store, I guess rather than following the crowd you're taking credit for the work of others.
I set the policy, I'm a director of the business, I also (FWIW) work at the store. We reuse packaging used for deliveries including stuff brought in by our customers - it doesn't look as nice as new stuff. Sure, we have waste, we have non-recyclable consumables, we try to do our bit.
My farts don't smell nice incidentally, I don't get the reference haven't seen SP in at least 8 years.
Nice little theory. I suspect in practice that people just wear the cost of the plastic bags, use them and bitch about using them, or praise themselves for using enviro bags even though they break quite often, they don't get the hundreds of uses (vs plastic bags) that are wildly claimed by biased companies, and they may be a net DRAIN on the environment rather than a benefit.
The theory is based on observation, there's been a huge increase in the numbers using textile bags in the UK partly through companies sponsoring textile bags. Also all major chains have "bag for life" (ours seemed to last a couple of years). What are these "enviro bags" which break so often? Where do you get the stats that supermarket plastic bags are used 100s of times - especially as others claim here that they break on the first use quite often? Paper bags are great as they can be composted, reused for wrapping (yes I wrap presents in reused brown paper, cheap ain't I) or packing fruit/veg to stop it getting sweaty and spoiling... hmmm I could go on.
As for fuel - road miles driven by people in my community have reduced due to increased fuel costs. I'm not claiming for a minute that the Oil-co.s are doing it for environmental reasons just that it's a side effect. They increase prices because they can: we reduce mileage, the net is still increased profits.
In summary, if it's not working - you should still try and fix it.
My argument was that large corporations helped change a habit with a solution that benefited them and DID NOT benefit the environment.
More expensive plastic bags means less people use the bags only once, they reuse or find alternate means of carrying groceries - that's a benefit of savings in energy and resources.
It's the same way that increased fuel prices reduces usage with a net benefit in reduced emissions of NOx, CO2, etc.. The "energy owners" benefit from more profit, but the environment benefits too.
How is that illogical?
I use some organic hemp bags, some cotton (unbleached), some plastic (I have a bad memory and don't always remember to take the bags with me). At our store we use recycled brown paper bags, we're the only shop in our city that doesn't use plastic AFAIK, I guess I'm just following the crowd?
there should be adjustments for time with the company (10%/yr), performance bonuses, incentives, etc.
I've never understood this. If there's a rate for the job that's the rate. Golden (or maybe brass) handcuffs I can understand, but is there any other reason why just having been there is worth paying more for? In many environments I can imagine newer hires are actually worth more.
IIRC (which is unlikely) hdparm will give you the last few spin-up times? But presumably this data could be dd-ed over with the old data.
Are there any other ways to check if the computer has been booted? Perhaps test the voltage across capacitors on the motherboard... yeah that'll be what they did!?
Thanks - I didn't know about Double CHOOZ or Daya Bay, seems I'm a bit out of touch!
One more question - do you view the 3 neutrinos mass eigenstates as 3 distinct neutrino type's or as 3 representations of one neutrino with an internal mix of flavours, or something else.
This is where my internal model of particle-wave duality comes a bit unstuck. Like visualising hyperspatial forms (hypercubes or whatever), never could quite lock it down.
Have you worked on a checkout? I haven't for quite some years (since the days you typed the numbers in and noone had credit cards). It is mind numbing.
"no bag" - i think this is a security thing at some stores, paid items should be bagged as an indication to the guards.
badly packed - always used to annoy me, I just do it myself. These people are probably being pressured to get the most throughput of money per minute possible, may be even paid a bonus on that basis. Packing bags takes time and reduces your aisles comparative yield.
They can charge you $1 for the "green" "enviro" bags which may be green in colour but are not good for the environment.
Tell you what, why don't you screw "them" over real good and buy a hemp bag printed with vegetable dyes. That would really "stick it to the man" and you know what, it would also be good for the environment.
Your argument appears to be that as large corporations helped to change a habit with a solution that may have benefited them too that you should simply revert to the more environmentally damaging behaviour. Who's being illogical?
Don't pay for bags,
Don't use the flimsy bags that break,
Get a bag to reuse that is strong and preferably not made from petrochemicals (though if you already have a bag that's suitable, eg a wheeled suitcase, that would do it).
We used to use those as garbage bags as well, and as we are only two, we don't have much garbage. The smallish grocery store bags are just perfect for daily garbage. Now we have to buy those larger black bags, which we can't fill in one day. Since we don't like stinky overnight garbage in house, we throw away a half empty bag, which is a waste. So, for our family of two, this policy does not seem to do any good to environment. Unless we are willing to keep garbage overnight, of course.
I'm flabbergasted.
How about a bin (that's British English for a trash receptacle) with a tight fitting (airtight even) lid. Waste breaks down aerobically, so a tight lid reduces any decomposition; it also prevents escape of gases.
Basically what you're saying is that your waste materials smell and you don't want to have to put up with that if that's the cost of saving the planet - it's going to get harder than that you know. I shudder to think what you say to someone who suggests you walk somewhere instead of using your car; shock! horror! you might even smell the sweat, how can you live through such hardship.
Our regular waste materials that aren't recycled comprise plastic food wrap, meat waste (bones, gristle, what-have-you) and vegetable matter for composting. The vegetable matter goes in a plastic tub with a lid and get's changed when it's full - take the lid off and it smells, but that's what the lid is for.
You could use a plastic bin and wash it when it gets dirty. Grocery bags - get a fabric bag like a hessian or hemp bag, use a rucksack, whatever.
For a smaller "trash" bag, how about a paper bag from a sustainable or recycled paper source?
You should find that most of your waste can be recycled or reused - if not then there's an issue to look at!
Environmental destruction or disguised laziness? You choose.
(Disclaimer, I'm not really that militant. If you're so poor that finding money for food is an issue (that's me btw) buy the cheapest possible trash bags, they'll be thinnest - or spend more for non-plastic biodegradable ones which are often made from starch. You might find biodegradable nappy bags a good source of small degradable bag, I've not compared prices.)
the city also outlawed the sale of water in plastic single-use bottles in or on all city owned property
Sorry, but what is a "single-use bottle"? All bottles can be reused by anyone that cares enough to do it. Or have Microsoft invented DRM for bottles that prevents them being refilled?
---
I say all and I know there are exceptions but I can out-pedant the best of them and I don't care!
Bottles made of sugar for use in movies, bottles made of electr-field for use in particle capture, bottles made for smashing on ships... other counter-examples welcome.
You clearly knows more about this than I do; but calling the different neutrinos a mixture of the three flavours of neutrino seems a little lacking.
e, muon and tau neutrinos undergo flavour oscillation, ie change type, but they appear still to be different particles - the particles comprise a mixture of flavour eigenstates that interfere through a mismatch in the mass eigenstates. No I don't understand it fully but a simple mental-model analog might be beat frequencies produced by sound waves in constructive interference.
Incidentally when I was an undergrad neutrino mass was an open question, massive neutrino's (eg those with a mass) allows for flavour oscillation which accounts [to some extent!] for discrepancies in the number of ex solar electron neutrinos predicted in the standard model.
Wikipedia is ambiguous on this point but the question was solved (using a large vat of dry-cleaning fluid) in favour of a massive neutrino several years ago, http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/print/1497 . There are still questions as to the exact mass and whether other unobserved neutrino's (super-massive, non-interacting "sterile neutrinos") exist and could be a type of dark matter - indeed I didn't think that the 1eV bound had been established conclusively but that the mass differences had been.
If all you can do is say "this sucks" but not say why or how it can be improved, then I agree, you have no business in software.
I disagree, but not strongly.
http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/ is useful IMO. A lot of it is users saying "this sucks". If you want to improve, then if people say what the worst bits are you know where to focus your attention. That's helpful. Not half as helpful as suggestions on how to fix it, not a patch on a patch (sorry). But it helps, doesn't it?
"Patches welcome" is seen by non-programmers as meaning "FOAD I couldn't care less".
It's like if a friend painted your portrait for you and you (assuming you're not an artist) thought your nose looked a bit big and your eyebrows too bushy, you point it out - instead of saying "I don't have time right now, I'll make a note and do it if I can" he says "repaint it yourself".
Now you could hire someone to do those changes, or take painting classes. But if he just says "repaint it yourself" you'd probably feel a bit disgruntled.
I think the correct response is probably "If you can code we [@ Example Project] always like to get patches, if not then please file a feature request [link to the bug system, eg launchpad, or the format for email requests] or bug report so that if a coder finds time they can implement your idea. Sadly we're quite stretched, we do this for free (tips are welcome too!) and so not all requests can be handled." [editorial comments].
That's called marketing - the user doesn't have a false expectation. You've given them something to do, which weeds out off-the-cuff requests that don't really matter. You've let them know you're working for free and given them an opportunity to donate.
I can't code well enough to make alterations to completely uncommented code! I tried to make a fix for klinkstatus the other day - I can find the part that needs fixing but don't know enough to make the alterations. I do however try my best to file full feature requests, file bug reports, do "answers" (see launchpad), try betas and test new features. I can write websites, design graphics, write docs... others can do all these things to help a project; they just can't code.
Person X: [...] this and this sucks [...] Me: patches are welcome Person X: what? what an unhelpful response! no wonder open source sucks, and you suck too!
Me: OSS is about a community effort, I'm giving my time for free but I haven't time to fix those things. If OSS sucks it's because not everyone is doing their bit.
Slashdot Mirror
People spending $1000 on an app that does nothing but be expensive underscores the idea that the iPhone is a useless toy for people to show off extravagance.
Well it's not useless, but other than that you sound exactly right to me.
Apple doesn't believe in the free market. If it did, you could buy an iPhone without a contract and install any application you want - like all the other smartphones on the market.
I don't think free market means what you think it does. It means that Apple are free to sell at the price they choose and that you don't have to buy it if you don't like the price!
There is nothing inherent in a "free market" concerning restrictions that a company imposes. They don't have to sell you anything, they choose what product to sell.
This may be a shock for you but there are other communications devices available - if you don't like the package, buy one of the other ones!
I thought the possible positions was more like 10^45.
Also, the random pawn move thing was supposed to be humorous. Though I have been known to throw a large piece (I don't compete) just to baffle the opposition.
The only "clever" algorithm is evaluating the positions (rather difficult in Chess).
With a DB of games couldn't you just use the move that wins most often, weighted by the ability of the player that chose the move (Bayesian I guess)? That should do pretty well.
If you can't compute a move then just move a random pawn ... that's what I do!
If you don't work at the store, I guess rather than following the crowd you're taking credit for the work of others.
I set the policy, I'm a director of the business, I also (FWIW) work at the store. We reuse packaging used for deliveries including stuff brought in by our customers - it doesn't look as nice as new stuff. Sure, we have waste, we have non-recyclable consumables, we try to do our bit.
My farts don't smell nice incidentally, I don't get the reference haven't seen SP in at least 8 years.
Nice little theory. I suspect in practice that people just wear the cost of the plastic bags, use them and bitch about using them, or praise themselves for using enviro bags even though they break quite often, they don't get the hundreds of uses (vs plastic bags) that are wildly claimed by biased companies, and they may be a net DRAIN on the environment rather than a benefit.
The theory is based on observation, there's been a huge increase in the numbers using textile bags in the UK partly through companies sponsoring textile bags. Also all major chains have "bag for life" (ours seemed to last a couple of years). What are these "enviro bags" which break so often? Where do you get the stats that supermarket plastic bags are used 100s of times - especially as others claim here that they break on the first use quite often? Paper bags are great as they can be composted, reused for wrapping (yes I wrap presents in reused brown paper, cheap ain't I) or packing fruit/veg to stop it getting sweaty and spoiling ... hmmm I could go on.
As for fuel - road miles driven by people in my community have reduced due to increased fuel costs. I'm not claiming for a minute that the Oil-co.s are doing it for environmental reasons just that it's a side effect. They increase prices because they can: we reduce mileage, the net is still increased profits.
In summary, if it's not working - you should still try and fix it.
Doubtless, but he only claimed it was hard to install non-repos software ... which I find so absurd that I must have misunderstood.
There's 0install and autopackage too. Though I forget the details I think 0install counts as repos but not autopackage.
Like clicking on a .deb package, [entering password,] and letting gdebi install it?
My argument was that large corporations helped change a habit with a solution that benefited them and DID NOT benefit the environment.
More expensive plastic bags means less people use the bags only once, they reuse or find alternate means of carrying groceries - that's a benefit of savings in energy and resources.
It's the same way that increased fuel prices reduces usage with a net benefit in reduced emissions of NOx, CO2, etc.. The "energy owners" benefit from more profit, but the environment benefits too.
How is that illogical?
I use some organic hemp bags, some cotton (unbleached), some plastic (I have a bad memory and don't always remember to take the bags with me). At our store we use recycled brown paper bags, we're the only shop in our city that doesn't use plastic AFAIK, I guess I'm just following the crowd?
it made it into Physics World, the mag of the IoP (body for professional UK physicists) - http://physicsworldarchive.iop.org/index.cfm?action=summary&doc=6%2F9%2Fphwv6i9a26%40pwa-xml&qt= and the NewScientist - http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg13918902.000----with-a-boson-at-the-tories-cocktail-party-.html and is cited at least once at arxiv.org - http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ex/0103023v2
there should be adjustments for time with the company (10%/yr), performance bonuses, incentives, etc.
I've never understood this. If there's a rate for the job that's the rate. Golden (or maybe brass) handcuffs I can understand, but is there any other reason why just having been there is worth paying more for? In many environments I can imagine newer hires are actually worth more.
This still raises the question of why sensitive data was on something as portable as a laptop.
You can't hide a mainframe under the sofa ... eh, eh!?
IIRC (which is unlikely) hdparm will give you the last few spin-up times? But presumably this data could be dd-ed over with the old data.
Are there any other ways to check if the computer has been booted? Perhaps test the voltage across capacitors on the motherboard ... yeah that'll be what they did!?
1n encrypted container in which the data is stored
You mean a shipping container right?
Thanks - I didn't know about Double CHOOZ or Daya Bay, seems I'm a bit out of touch!
One more question - do you view the 3 neutrinos mass eigenstates as 3 distinct neutrino type's or as 3 representations of one neutrino with an internal mix of flavours, or something else.
This is where my internal model of particle-wave duality comes a bit unstuck. Like visualising hyperspatial forms (hypercubes or whatever), never could quite lock it down.
Have you worked on a checkout? I haven't for quite some years (since the days you typed the numbers in and noone had credit cards). It is mind numbing.
"no bag" - i think this is a security thing at some stores, paid items should be bagged as an indication to the guards.
badly packed - always used to annoy me, I just do it myself. These people are probably being pressured to get the most throughput of money per minute possible, may be even paid a bonus on that basis. Packing bags takes time and reduces your aisles comparative yield.
They can charge you $1 for the "green" "enviro" bags which may be green in colour but are not good for the environment.
Tell you what, why don't you screw "them" over real good and buy a hemp bag printed with vegetable dyes. That would really "stick it to the man" and you know what, it would also be good for the environment.
Your argument appears to be that as large corporations helped to change a habit with a solution that may have benefited them too that you should simply revert to the more environmentally damaging behaviour. Who's being illogical?
Don't pay for bags,
Don't use the flimsy bags that break,
Get a bag to reuse that is strong and preferably not made from petrochemicals (though if you already have a bag that's suitable, eg a wheeled suitcase, that would do it).
We used to use those as garbage bags as well, and as we are only two, we don't have much garbage. The smallish grocery store bags are just perfect for daily garbage. Now we have to buy those larger black bags, which we can't fill in one day. Since we don't like stinky overnight garbage in house, we throw away a half empty bag, which is a waste. So, for our family of two, this policy does not seem to do any good to environment. Unless we are willing to keep garbage overnight, of course.
I'm flabbergasted.
How about a bin (that's British English for a trash receptacle) with a tight fitting (airtight even) lid. Waste breaks down aerobically, so a tight lid reduces any decomposition; it also prevents escape of gases.
Basically what you're saying is that your waste materials smell and you don't want to have to put up with that if that's the cost of saving the planet - it's going to get harder than that you know. I shudder to think what you say to someone who suggests you walk somewhere instead of using your car; shock! horror! you might even smell the sweat, how can you live through such hardship.
Our regular waste materials that aren't recycled comprise plastic food wrap, meat waste (bones, gristle, what-have-you) and vegetable matter for composting. The vegetable matter goes in a plastic tub with a lid and get's changed when it's full - take the lid off and it smells, but that's what the lid is for.
You could use a plastic bin and wash it when it gets dirty. Grocery bags - get a fabric bag like a hessian or hemp bag, use a rucksack, whatever.
For a smaller "trash" bag, how about a paper bag from a sustainable or recycled paper source?
You should find that most of your waste can be recycled or reused - if not then there's an issue to look at!
Environmental destruction or disguised laziness? You choose.
(Disclaimer, I'm not really that militant. If you're so poor that finding money for food is an issue (that's me btw) buy the cheapest possible trash bags, they'll be thinnest - or spend more for non-plastic biodegradable ones which are often made from starch. You might find biodegradable nappy bags a good source of small degradable bag, I've not compared prices.)
the city also outlawed the sale of water in plastic single-use bottles in or on all city owned property
Sorry, but what is a "single-use bottle"? All bottles can be reused by anyone that cares enough to do it. Or have Microsoft invented DRM for bottles that prevents them being refilled?
---
I say all and I know there are exceptions but I can out-pedant the best of them and I don't care!
Bottles made of sugar for use in movies, bottles made of electr-field for use in particle capture, bottles made for smashing on ships ... other counter-examples welcome.
There's a great analogy for this which will probably help, http://www.hep.ucl.ac.uk/~djm/higgsa.html .
IIRC this was the result of a competition by Physics World (the magazine of the Inst. of Phys.).
You clearly knows more about this than I do; but calling the different neutrinos a mixture of the three flavours of neutrino seems a little lacking.
e, muon and tau neutrinos undergo flavour oscillation, ie change type, but they appear still to be different particles - the particles comprise a mixture of flavour eigenstates that interfere through a mismatch in the mass eigenstates. No I don't understand it fully but a simple mental-model analog might be beat frequencies produced by sound waves in constructive interference.
Incidentally when I was an undergrad neutrino mass was an open question, massive neutrino's (eg those with a mass) allows for flavour oscillation which accounts [to some extent!] for discrepancies in the number of ex solar electron neutrinos predicted in the standard model.
Wikipedia is ambiguous on this point but the question was solved (using a large vat of dry-cleaning fluid) in favour of a massive neutrino several years ago, http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/print/1497 . There are still questions as to the exact mass and whether other unobserved neutrino's (super-massive, non-interacting "sterile neutrinos") exist and could be a type of dark matter - indeed I didn't think that the 1eV bound had been established conclusively but that the mass differences had been.
usb floppy drive
Doesn't alter the system so won't void maintenance.
Purely a guess: getting nailed to a log just for suggesting that people should try to be a little bit nicer to each other.
Oh yeah, and claiming to be the bastard child of a peasant woman and the supreme deity of a large chunk of the population.
Jesus never claimed to be God, but he let others do it and let them know he agreed.
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ.[b]" ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&chapter=8&version=31 )
If all you can do is say "this sucks" but not say why or how it can be improved, then I agree, you have no business in software.
I disagree, but not strongly.
http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/ is useful IMO. A lot of it is users saying "this sucks". If you want to improve, then if people say what the worst bits are you know where to focus your attention. That's helpful. Not half as helpful as suggestions on how to fix it, not a patch on a patch (sorry). But it helps, doesn't it?
"Patches welcome" is seen by non-programmers as meaning "FOAD I couldn't care less".
It's like if a friend painted your portrait for you and you (assuming you're not an artist) thought your nose looked a bit big and your eyebrows too bushy, you point it out - instead of saying "I don't have time right now, I'll make a note and do it if I can" he says "repaint it yourself".
Now you could hire someone to do those changes, or take painting classes. But if he just says "repaint it yourself" you'd probably feel a bit disgruntled.
I think the correct response is probably "If you can code we [@ Example Project] always like to get patches, if not then please file a feature request [link to the bug system, eg launchpad, or the format for email requests] or bug report so that if a coder finds time they can implement your idea. Sadly we're quite stretched, we do this for free (tips are welcome too!) and so not all requests can be handled." [editorial comments].
That's called marketing - the user doesn't have a false expectation. You've given them something to do, which weeds out off-the-cuff requests that don't really matter. You've let them know you're working for free and given them an opportunity to donate.
I can't code well enough to make alterations to completely uncommented code! I tried to make a fix for klinkstatus the other day - I can find the part that needs fixing but don't know enough to make the alterations. I do however try my best to file full feature requests, file bug reports, do "answers" (see launchpad), try betas and test new features. I can write websites, design graphics, write docs ... others can do all these things to help a project; they just can't code.
Person X: [...] this and this sucks [...]
Me: patches are welcome
Person X: what? what an unhelpful response! no wonder open source sucks, and you suck too!
Me: OSS is about a community effort, I'm giving my time for free but I haven't time to fix those things. If OSS sucks it's because not everyone is doing their bit.
Personally I think OSS is awesome.