I can imagine a future when although a vast majority of people are using Linux, Windows still shows up in the "statistics" as the most popular OS, just because it is shipped by default with most PCs. As long as the Microsoft spin doctors could keep the myth going, manufacturers would still ship PCs with Windows pre-installed by default, thus reinforcing the "statistics". In effect, Microsoft could still claim the "Microsoft tax" even if nobody was using their product.
but just pointing an old car in the right direction with the steering wheel and accelarator jammed would have a small chance of victory. It would make a lot more sense than playing the lottery, and on the off chance that it did work, it would piss off DARPA no end.
Typical - someone fits an entire web server into the space of an RJ45 socket, including socket space, and the top ten posts go on about what a waste of time it is! Personally, I think its great, and although I wouldn't expect toasters with this thing any time soon, it would be ideal for wiring factory equipment and such like with remote diagnostics (I get the impression this is the market they are aiming for). I think it would be massively improved if they could fit a wifi interface into the space wasted by the RJ45 socket, though. Then it might have realistic household applications.
I don't think we decided anything. This is a research project. Developing something new is always good (and I get the impression there's more to it than just a 3D window manager). Even if what you develop is rubbish, at least we learn what path not to follow. Hypothetically, focusing everybody's effort on refining one idea to perfection will result in improvement in the short term for that one idea, but it would be a tremendous waste of creativity.
Now we can enjoy the thrill of croquet, even on rainy days or in winter. I can't get to the website, because it's slashdotted, but it sounds almost as exciting as Championship Bass Fishing. Will there be a linux version?
Don't believe everything you see in the films. Most of the so called "super spies" that get in here end up getting fed to the pirhanas. The main beneift, though, is a good posisiton in the new world order.
Where I work, we have a fleet of electric cars. Although they leave a lot to be desired as a solution to the general transportation/energy problems of the world, they do have their advantages in some situations. From our perspective, the lack of emissions make them ideal for transporting canisters and employees around the underground passageways, where proper ventilation of exhaust fumes would be almost impossible, and at least economically unfeasible. A monorail system is an alternative, which has been used by some of our competitors, but monorails just don't have the flexibiltiy. I know some people will go on about electricity coming from fossil fuels, etc, but in our case we have our own geothermal plant tapped into the nearby volcanic core. (I'm not really supposed to talk about this, but one of our latest projects requires huge amounts of power;-) The lack of noise can also be a benefit, especially for security applications - you can hear an engine comming a mile off.
If these chips contain EEPROM, they can be hacked right? You could:
1. Confuse the checkout by having a porsche 911 in your shopping trolley.
2. Make your pants look like a rocket launcher to freak out the secret police.
3. Remotely reprogram other people's pants to look like yours, hence stealing there frequent flyer/loyalty points.
I think you have an overly pessimistic view of governements. Sure, for a dictatorship pretty much anything could happen. but the idea behind democracy in particular, is that the government is representative of the people.
In reality, a "democratic" government can and generally does do whatever it wants for the period in power, even when a majority of the people strongly oppose a policy. What we call democracy has an element of public representation, but the only choice the public gets in how they are ruled, is the difference in policies of the various candidates at election time. This is a very small subset of government policy. Yes, the people have an influence over what the government does, but it's only an influence. To a lesser extent, this is also true in most monarchies/dictatorships.
I think small games companies will get funded like small film studios as soon as computer games are acknowledged as an art form by the British art establishment, which will probably be sometime in the next century.
There is still no reason what so ever why americans and britains specificly should be allowed to monitor worldwide communications.
Allowed by whom exactly? Governments do whatever they want unless some other government coerces them to do otherwise, and no other government is in that position.
But knowing how the game world works. Most people will run out and buy one the very same day it is released. This is madness. They are just doing what Sony wants them to do. Purchasing the console at an inflated price for maximum profit. If you go buy a PS2 right now for $300(Canadian), the store's profit is about $5. Compared to the $200+ when it is first released.
This is common practice throughout the technology sector. There are always people whole will pay through the roof for the latest and greatest, so the products are priced accordingly. Economies of scale can't really kick in straight away, because the company does not know how successful the line will be, and has to factor in the risks of poor sales into its early production runs, so the product is more expensive anyway. Of course the "early adopters" get added value for their money, because being the first enhances their social status;-) Personnally, last years technology works OK for me.
The Commodore 64 market has been screaming for an up to date operating system and web browser for decades. This should breathe new life into a sector which has been seen by many as obsolete, and may well trigger a renaissance in C64 development and application support.
Ancient folk wisdom, rediscovered or repackaged, is unlikely to match the output of modern scientific laboratories.
Gobshite, I say. African witchdoctors have used neme tree leaves since forever to treat malaria. Neme tree leaves contain quinine, which is known to treat malaria. This is known because scientists analysed the neme leaves to find the exact chemical which produces the effect after seeing african doctors proscribing it. Naturally the scientists are hailed as geniuses and the ancient folk wisdom dismissed as hocus pocus. This goes for most homeopathic medecines. Most of them work because they contain drugs. Identifying the specific drug makes it easier to control dosage, but it doesn't mean taking the herb won't treat a disease.
I came across the russian scientist with his antigravity device a while ago on the internet. I think he was asking for $10 from anyone interesting in helping him develop it. Being from the land of brilliant science and engineering, but f#*ked economics, I came to the conclusion that it was quite a believable internet scam that a lot of well meaning people with spare money would probably fall for, but not me. So NASA have given him $1000000? BINGO!!!
Disclaimer: Kudos to the bloke if he really has developed antigravity
People in Africa aren't ignorant, they're unskilled. Subject specific books are what they need. OK, you can get subject specific stuff on the internet, but for that you need electricity, a communications infrastructure, technical support. Also, it has huge running costs, relatively speaking. A book can be bought once and shared among a whole village, and with no running costs. And it'll last for several generations.
I would have thought that tackling the causes of Africa's poverty, rather than attempt to "boost it into the 21st century" (whatever that means) would be a more effective and longer-lasting solution.
There's not much of an incentive, given that most of the causes of Africa's poverty are causes of the west's prosperity.
Slashdot Mirror
I can imagine a future when although a vast majority of people are using Linux, Windows still shows up in the "statistics" as the most popular OS, just because it is shipped by default with most PCs. As long as the Microsoft spin doctors could keep the myth going, manufacturers would still ship PCs with Windows pre-installed by default, thus reinforcing the "statistics". In effect, Microsoft could still claim the "Microsoft tax" even if nobody was using their product.
but just pointing an old car in the right direction with the steering wheel and accelarator jammed would have a small chance of victory. It would make a lot more sense than playing the lottery, and on the off chance that it did work, it would piss off DARPA no end.
..it was bundled with MSDOS 5.0. Who the hell still has MSDOS and plays games??? Of course, if there were a linux version...
But it's fun trying!
Typical - someone fits an entire web server into the space of an RJ45 socket, including socket space, and the top ten posts go on about what a waste of time it is! Personally, I think its great, and although I wouldn't expect toasters with this thing any time soon, it would be ideal for wiring factory equipment and such like with remote diagnostics (I get the impression this is the market they are aiming for). I think it would be massively improved if they could fit a wifi interface into the space wasted by the RJ45 socket, though. Then it might have realistic household applications.
Their development methodology is out to lunch though!
I don't think we decided anything. This is a research project. Developing something new is always good (and I get the impression there's more to it than just a 3D window manager). Even if what you develop is rubbish, at least we learn what path not to follow. Hypothetically, focusing everybody's effort on refining one idea to perfection will result in improvement in the short term for that one idea, but it would be a tremendous waste of creativity.
Now we can enjoy the thrill of croquet, even on rainy days or in winter. I can't get to the website, because it's slashdotted, but it sounds almost as exciting as Championship Bass Fishing. Will there be a linux version?
Don't believe everything you see in the films. Most of the so called "super spies" that get in here end up getting fed to the pirhanas. The main beneift, though, is a good posisiton in the new world order.
Where I work, we have a fleet of electric cars. Although they leave a lot to be desired as a solution to the general transportation/energy problems of the world, they do have their advantages in some situations. From our perspective, the lack of emissions make them ideal for transporting canisters and employees around the underground passageways, where proper ventilation of exhaust fumes would be almost impossible, and at least economically unfeasible. A monorail system is an alternative, which has been used by some of our competitors, but monorails just don't have the flexibiltiy. I know some people will go on about electricity coming from fossil fuels, etc, but in our case we have our own geothermal plant tapped into the nearby volcanic core. (I'm not really supposed to talk about this, but one of our latest projects requires huge amounts of power ;-) The lack of noise can also be a benefit, especially for security applications - you can hear an engine comming a mile off.
If these chips contain EEPROM, they can be hacked right? You could:
1. Confuse the checkout by having a porsche 911 in your shopping trolley.
2. Make your pants look like a rocket launcher to freak out the secret police.
3. Remotely reprogram other people's pants to look like yours, hence stealing there frequent flyer/loyalty points.
You can make a perfectly legal 6.25 kg monster rocket by together 100 62.5g rockets with gaffer tape. Problem solved.
Wouldn't it make him a baker?
In reality, a "democratic" government can and generally does do whatever it wants for the period in power, even when a majority of the people strongly oppose a policy. What we call democracy has an element of public representation, but the only choice the public gets in how they are ruled, is the difference in policies of the various candidates at election time. This is a very small subset of government policy. Yes, the people have an influence over what the government does, but it's only an influence. To a lesser extent, this is also true in most monarchies/dictatorships.
I think small games companies will get funded like small film studios as soon as computer games are acknowledged as an art form by the British art establishment, which will probably be sometime in the next century.
Where does the illuminati fit into all this?
Allowed by whom exactly? Governments do whatever they want unless some other government coerces them to do otherwise, and no other government is in that position.
This is common practice throughout the technology sector. There are always people whole will pay through the roof for the latest and greatest, so the products are priced accordingly. Economies of scale can't really kick in straight away, because the company does not know how successful the line will be, and has to factor in the risks of poor sales into its early production runs, so the product is more expensive anyway. Of course the "early adopters" get added value for their money, because being the first enhances their social status ;-) Personnally, last years technology works OK for me.
The Commodore 64 market has been screaming for an up to date operating system and web browser for decades. This should breathe new life into a sector which has been seen by many as obsolete, and may well trigger a renaissance in C64 development and application support.
p.s. What's an incinerating toilet? It sound dangerous.
Gobshite, I say. African witchdoctors have used neme tree leaves since forever to treat malaria. Neme tree leaves contain quinine, which is known to treat malaria. This is known because scientists analysed the neme leaves to find the exact chemical which produces the effect after seeing african doctors proscribing it. Naturally the scientists are hailed as geniuses and the ancient folk wisdom dismissed as hocus pocus. This goes for most homeopathic medecines. Most of them work because they contain drugs. Identifying the specific drug makes it easier to control dosage, but it doesn't mean taking the herb won't treat a disease.
Disclaimer: Kudos to the bloke if he really has developed antigravity
On a similar vein, why doesn't /. get hit with DDoS lawsuits/threats?
People in Africa aren't ignorant, they're unskilled. Subject specific books are what they need. OK, you can get subject specific stuff on the internet, but for that you need electricity, a communications infrastructure, technical support. Also, it has huge running costs, relatively speaking. A book can be bought once and shared among a whole village, and with no running costs. And it'll last for several generations.
Books?
There's not much of an incentive, given that most of the causes of Africa's poverty are causes of the west's prosperity.