This could get confusing... for this posting, how are we supposed to distinguish between true & bonified flamers and those who sarcastically flame this post for the sake of humor??
This may be old hat for many here, but always check for swollen capacitors before tossing electronics of any meaningful worth. I recently fixed my broken DLP HDTV for a couple of bucks.
Similar story here & it was Blockbuster that pushed me to the Blu-Ray side as well. If you sign up for a credit card at Target and get the 10% discount, then the PS3/Blu-Ray player is only $450. If you want an HD player, WiFi connectivity, and on-line membership, PS3 is actually a cheaper deal then the 360.
As long as major titles are being released in Blu-Ray format, why should owners care how dominant the format is in mass-market? Sure, it'll get there in a couple years, but for now, many people who can spring $1000+ for a HDTV won't wince too sharply at the prospect of paying an extra hundred of dollars to have HD movies now opposed to later.
Just because something will be cheaper in the future doesn't mean it's not a worthwhile purchase for many enthusiasts now.
Your point stands, but I would see it as the world "catching up" in what will potentially be a "win-win" scenario for all involved players. While the Americans have plenty of challenges to overcome and improvements to make with their education, their system is still the envy of the world. Note a few other statistics:
* 17 of the top 20 universities are American (source: Jiao Tong University, referenced by The Economist)
* American universities employ 70% of the world's Nobel prize-winners
* Americans produce 44% of the most frequently cited articles
Perhaps one thing that frustrates me is how a term can carry so many meanings. For many, ID seems to be an attempt to "prove" that natural law is inadequate to explain the nature we see around us. I agree -- this isn't science. It's god of the gaps reasoning, faith, etc.
But others (at least claim) that ID *is* a natural science that seeks to establish the ultimate cause of a complex state (like forensics or SETI). If that were the case, then we could at least consider the possibility of ET playing a role or something. Such claims could be analyzed in a logical manner. Of course, in terms of evolution on the species scale, ID could be quickly dismantled. Perhaps the only area of debate would be on the molecular scale (with DNA methods, etc).
I just wish ID advocates would be consistent in what they mean by ID.
The latest issue of The Economist had an interesting article on this. A couple key quotes:
"The EU proposal, announced by Britain, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, was intended as a compromise between the UN supporters and America. It would create a new organisation to set policies over distributing routing numbers, creating new domains and the like. Because of its role as chair, Britain, usually America's closest ally on internet issues, had to stay neutral and could not beat back calls by Denmark, France, Spain and the Netherlands for greater government influence over the internet. After the announcement, Brazilian and Iranian delegates rushed to congratulate British officials, whose faces dropped when they realised the EU policy was being lauded by America's loudest opponents."
"However, the disingenuousness of the position was made clear during the meeting last month in Geneva. Some countries demanded that groups representing business and public-interest causes be thrown out of the room when governments drafted documents for the summit in November. In one instance, delegates from China and Brazil actually pounded on tables to drown out a speaker from industry."
"The good news from the UN meetings is that governments increasingly understand the importance of technology to society. The bad news is that the internet risks becoming suffocated in their embrace."
Unfortunately, I still received numerous unsolicited fund-raising calls from charities and the fire/police departments. It's also annoying to endure having both the cell and land line ring in turn when someone is trying to reach me (at times when I don't want to be reached).
Finally, I asked myself, "why am I paying an extra $40/month for harrassment?" As many people are doing -- I canceled the phone service and bumped up the minutes on my cell plan. Overall, I save $20/month and have MUCH more peace in the evenings (for those rare free times when its nice to be left undisturbed).
Practically speaking, is there much difference between suing the 13 yr old vs suing the parent? Let's say the RIAA successfully sues the girl and pins her with a $1,000,000 settlement -- who's liable? It's not like the girl has any assets they can seize. Can they then go after the parent's assets? If so, is there really much difference in whether they sue the mom or the girl?
Actually, the ^H phenomenon predates Firefox -- I encountered it using Solaris 2.6 and Irix (and had to update the login script with a "stty erase ^H" command).
There was some seriousness behind my joke. I cringe for the day when TPF and other science missions get postponed (or cancelled) as the money flows towards the (less scientifically fruitful) manned missions.
We've heard plenty about **IA lawsuits -- but are software companies also issuing large handfuls of lawsuits for software piracy? Do they have their own **IA-ish trade group?
A previous slashdot article mentioned a group of scientists who were attempting to resurrect the extinct Tasmanian tiger by inserting recovered DNA into a surrogate mother's egg (of a similar existing species). The latest news is that the project was cancelled due to difficulties, but then was recently restarted.
So this brings up an interesting question... IF the entire Neanderthal genome was recovered, could its DNA be inserted into a human egg and brought to birth by a surrogate human mother? If this is feasible (with current or near-future tech), imagine the implications!
I find it interesting that usually the most vocal villifiers are the ones connected to profit (past or pressent) through IP rights. Too often ethics is a thinly disguised tool for the advancement of self-interest.
Then there's that complex where people are driven to follow any given rule with little consideration of legitimacy. Although its often unconscious, people love to assemble any construct so they can feel morally superior (while assuaging lingering guilt from other perceived shortcomings in their life).
Then there's the altruistic faithful who always dutily seek to do the 'right thing'. What they fail to realize is that while they faithfully pay their part in small matters such as these, myriad entities are screwing them over in the larger picture.
In terms of priority, I would much rather see us spend money on endeavors which significantly add to our knowledge base. We have (or are near to having) the technology to build flying formations of space telescopes, capable of both detecting earth-like planets AND their atmospheric composition. There is so much to be done in terms of scientific research -- testing quantum loop gravity theory, probing dark matter / dark energy, and testing various cosmological theories.
Unfortunately, as missions like Kepler, Terrestrial Planet Finder, and SEM are likely to be delayed/cancelled as we focus on going to the moon (again) and superfluously sending humans where probes have already been. Not that manned exploration isn't interesting or meaningful, but there are more pressing things. We've sustained funding for space science for the past 25 years without "excitement generating" manned exploration - I wish that trend could continue for another 25.
Slashdot Mirror
Stunned by the brilliant post or the brilliant slashdot community that promoted the post to Score:4 ?
"Chuck Norris understands the ending to 2001: A Space Odyssey" (I couldn't resist when I saw Clarke's name mentioned)
Could the wi-fi/hard-drive capabilities of the PS3 & Xbox360 be utilized to receive/store/play internet video content?
This could get confusing... for this posting, how are we supposed to distinguish between true & bonified flamers and those who sarcastically flame this post for the sake of humor??
This may be old hat for many here, but always check for swollen capacitors before tossing electronics of any meaningful worth. I recently fixed my broken DLP HDTV for a couple of bucks.
Similar story here & it was Blockbuster that pushed me to the Blu-Ray side as well. If you sign up for a credit card at Target and get the 10% discount, then the PS3/Blu-Ray player is only $450. If you want an HD player, WiFi connectivity, and on-line membership, PS3 is actually a cheaper deal then the 360.
As long as major titles are being released in Blu-Ray format, why should owners care how dominant the format is in mass-market? Sure, it'll get there in a couple years, but for now, many people who can spring $1000+ for a HDTV won't wince too sharply at the prospect of paying an extra hundred of dollars to have HD movies now opposed to later.
Just because something will be cheaper in the future doesn't mean it's not a worthwhile purchase for many enthusiasts now.
Your point stands, but I would see it as the world "catching up" in what will potentially be a "win-win" scenario for all involved players. While the Americans have plenty of challenges to overcome and improvements to make with their education, their system is still the envy of the world. Note a few other statistics:
* 17 of the top 20 universities are American (source: Jiao Tong University, referenced by The Economist)
* American universities employ 70% of the world's Nobel prize-winners
* Americans produce 44% of the most frequently cited articles
Perhaps one thing that frustrates me is how a term can carry so many meanings. For many, ID seems to be an attempt to "prove" that natural law is inadequate to explain the nature we see around us. I agree -- this isn't science. It's god of the gaps reasoning, faith, etc.
But others (at least claim) that ID *is* a natural science that seeks to establish the ultimate cause of a complex state (like forensics or SETI). If that were the case, then we could at least consider the possibility of ET playing a role or something. Such claims could be analyzed in a logical manner. Of course, in terms of evolution on the species scale, ID could be quickly dismantled. Perhaps the only area of debate would be on the molecular scale (with DNA methods, etc).
I just wish ID advocates would be consistent in what they mean by ID.
The latest issue of The Economist had an interesting article on this. A couple key quotes:
"The EU proposal, announced by Britain, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, was intended as a compromise between the UN supporters and America. It would create a new organisation to set policies over distributing routing numbers, creating new domains and the like. Because of its role as chair, Britain, usually America's closest ally on internet issues, had to stay neutral and could not beat back calls by Denmark, France, Spain and the Netherlands for greater government influence over the internet. After the announcement, Brazilian and Iranian delegates rushed to congratulate British officials, whose faces dropped when they realised the EU policy was being lauded by America's loudest opponents."
"However, the disingenuousness of the position was made clear during the meeting last month in Geneva. Some countries demanded that groups representing business and public-interest causes be thrown out of the room when governments drafted documents for the summit in November. In one instance, delegates from China and Brazil actually pounded on tables to drown out a speaker from industry."
"The good news from the UN meetings is that governments increasingly understand the importance of technology to society. The bad news is that the internet risks becoming suffocated in their embrace."
Unfortunately, I still received numerous unsolicited fund-raising calls from charities and the fire/police departments. It's also annoying to endure having both the cell and land line ring in turn when someone is trying to reach me (at times when I don't want to be reached).
Finally, I asked myself, "why am I paying an extra $40/month for harrassment?" As many people are doing -- I canceled the phone service and bumped up the minutes on my cell plan. Overall, I save $20/month and have MUCH more peace in the evenings (for those rare free times when its nice to be left undisturbed).
That should be *His* Noodly Appendage... show some respect before He smites you.
Practically speaking, is there much difference between suing the 13 yr old vs suing the parent? Let's say the RIAA successfully sues the girl and pins her with a $1,000,000 settlement -- who's liable? It's not like the girl has any assets they can seize. Can they then go after the parent's assets? If so, is there really much difference in whether they sue the mom or the girl?
Quite obviously, all of this has been caused by the dwindling number of pirates (search on the word "pirates" in the preceding link).
Actually, the ^H phenomenon predates Firefox -- I encountered it using Solaris 2.6 and Irix (and had to update the login script with a "stty erase ^H" command).
There was some seriousness behind my joke. I cringe for the day when TPF and other science missions get postponed (or cancelled) as the money flows towards the (less scientifically fruitful) manned missions.
Imagine the beo^H^H^H cluster of interferometry space telescopes you could build with 100 billion!
I liked the Martian satire better...
(correction: I meant **AA, not **IA)
We've heard plenty about **IA lawsuits -- but are software companies also issuing large handfuls of lawsuits for software piracy? Do they have their own **IA-ish trade group?
You should've read the parent more carefully. The parent was talking about the cost of a *single* ticket + food/drinks.
> AI for Computer Games begins with a brief introduction to the historic roles that AI has played in games such as Pac Man and Mario
I actually got a copy of the original SMB source code. Hopefully Nintendo won't mind me revealing the algorithm for the koopa trooper's AI:
1. walk until wall is encountered
2. reverse direction
3. goto step 1
A previous slashdot article mentioned a group of scientists who were attempting to resurrect the extinct Tasmanian tiger by inserting recovered DNA into a surrogate mother's egg (of a similar existing species). The latest news is that the project was cancelled due to difficulties, but then was recently restarted.
So this brings up an interesting question... IF the entire Neanderthal genome was recovered, could its DNA be inserted into a human egg and brought to birth by a surrogate human mother? If this is feasible (with current or near-future tech), imagine the implications!
I find it interesting that usually the most vocal villifiers are the ones connected to profit (past or pressent) through IP rights. Too often ethics is a thinly disguised tool for the advancement of self-interest.
Then there's that complex where people are driven to follow any given rule with little consideration of legitimacy. Although its often unconscious, people love to assemble any construct so they can feel morally superior (while assuaging lingering guilt from other perceived shortcomings in their life).
Then there's the altruistic faithful who always dutily seek to do the 'right thing'. What they fail to realize is that while they faithfully pay their part in small matters such as these, myriad entities are screwing them over in the larger picture.
In terms of priority, I would much rather see us spend money on endeavors which significantly add to our knowledge base. We have (or are near to having) the technology to build flying formations of space telescopes, capable of both detecting earth-like planets AND their atmospheric composition. There is so much to be done in terms of scientific research -- testing quantum loop gravity theory, probing dark matter / dark energy, and testing various cosmological theories.
Unfortunately, as missions like Kepler, Terrestrial Planet Finder, and SEM are likely to be delayed/cancelled as we focus on going to the moon (again) and superfluously sending humans where probes have already been. Not that manned exploration isn't interesting or meaningful, but there are more pressing things. We've sustained funding for space science for the past 25 years without "excitement generating" manned exploration - I wish that trend could continue for another 25.
> "World's biggest hacker held By Rob Singh"
So how much did he weigh?