Erm, I'm not sure you're right there. It was my belief that your connection went through BT's Colossus network to wherever your ISP's uplink was, and connected to the ISP's modems there.
I never quite understood why they call that 'deregulation', could you explain? It seems to me that allowing competitors to use those lines at a reasonable price would REQUIRE government intervention, and regulation, because obviously the phone companies won't do it on their own, and hence DEregulation would actually close the market to competition and allow the monopolies to thrive?
Could not they provide voice services over the existing voice lines? Over here in the UK it's perfectly possible for a third party telephony provider to offer a voice service over BT's lines. Running another redundant line to the house would never be considered, as it would be extremely expensive.
Is it not possible, if you can make an explosion powerful enough to generate enough heat, to actually vaporize an asteroid? If so, a 'large blast' may be the answer, but only when we have developed weapons several orders more powerful than the most powerful ones we have today. The asteroid could be melted and dispersed in all directions if we could generate a powerful (and hot) enough blast, ya know one similar to what would happen if the thing went into the sun.
Yep, this is true, although you have to admit we would be horrendusly unlucky if a fatal asteroid did hit us anytime soon.
Think about it, the dinosaurs had how many million years to develop ways to prevent a fatal disaster? And they didn't have the intelligence too. Intelligent humans have only been around 4/5000 years, and we've already come *incredibly* far. All we need is another 5000, and I predict we'll have moved off Earth and colonized hundreds of other plantets, as well as building permenant space stations, providing there is no fatal disaster. It would be a rather tragic end to humankind if, after only a very small period of time in evolutionary terms, we were wiped out. We should at least be given another million years:-)
Actually, the option of 'both hands equally good' occured to me almost immediately, but I stupidly dismissed it as I thought that that couldn't be what the poster was referring to. Most people who are ambidextrous can use both hands with equal skill but will still have a preference as to which hand they use. It's natural to have a preference, i've never heard of someone who doesn't have one. So I think that in actuality there are only 2 real options. Someone who is ambidextrous is unlikely to keep switching their keyboard hand positions, they will just pick their preference (left/right) and stick with it. Things would get annoying if you couldn't decide on one side or the other:-)
Getting rid of the electoral vote would really screw things up. The reason we have it is to level things out and keep a few small but hevily populated areas from controlling the whole country.
Whereas now, you have a few people in rural areas being given WAY more power than a large number of people in urban areas. I just totally disagree with you as to what 'fairness' is. To me, giving each person, no matter where they live, an equal voice in democracy is a lot more fair than giving each similarly-sized region an equal voice.
Besides, only twice in 200 years has someone lost the popular vote and won the electoral, that still does make him president, despite what a few far left-wing liberal hacks would like you to believe.
Of course it makes him president. The 'left-wing liberal hacks' aren't trying to argue that this isn't the case; indeed, they're saying that this is what's wrong with the system, and I agree!
So what you Americans that don't have huge amounts of money really need, if it isn't blindingly obvious already, is a MUCH fairer system to the ludicrous current electoral system that allows a president to be elected without obtaining the most votes, preferably one that involves PR.
No, I'm not bloody well kidding! Sorry if I sound dumb but I really can't think of two groups of people that aren't right handed!! Unless I'm missing something??!
It's not really fair to include the key because there's nothing Europeans could do about the need for the extra character (aside from not forming the Euro, but that's another argument:-) If it were to be implemented on US keyboards, they would have the same problem, so it's a rather optional key really.
As for each vowel having 4 characters, come off it. Those 4 characters aren't marked on the key itself. If you're going to start talking about characters that certain keys could POSSIBLY be used for and not characters that are actually marked on the keyboard, you might as well say that every key has over 100 possibilities since keyboards can be totally remapped.
Whilst the 'context sensetive menu' key is madness, I have to say that I use the 'Window' key a lot *ducks*
It's incredibly useful (to me) for getting the start menu and taskbar back up on the screen if an application either hogs the whole screen or goes to fullscreen. You must use that or Alt-Tab, except that alt-tab won't work if you don't have any other apps running.
Ah, that's the British keyboard's way of doing things. Usually, the US keyboards have a long thin Enter key like the Tab key, and make use of the space above it to put in a Backslash key (insane, who would want a backslash there?:-)
Some people can't stand them and I'm alright with that
And I'm one of em. I mean what the hell is so ergonomic about one of your hands typing at a right angle to the other one? It feels really unnatural to me. Give me a standard keyboard any day. Ditto for 'palm rests'. I sometimes rest my palms on my desk, and it feels fine. But usually my hands hover above the desk, and I can't type properly if I artificially make my palms 'rest'. Anyway I'm not against choice, just saying how many some of these keyboards seem to be.
"tab if Silent equals false left curly bracket newline tab tab printf left round bracket double quote percent sign s double quote comma space Output right round bracket semicolon newline tab right curly bracket space forward slash star space Output debug information space star forward slash newline newline..."
Don't forget ¦ which is also on the ` and key (it's not a pipe, that's |)
Erm, nope. '¦' is actually on the other one - it's on the same key as the '\' backslash. And it still results in you getting a proper pipe '|'; there, I just used it. The '|' on the key with ` and is actually a proper looking pipe.
The UK keyboard is insane - there are two keys with three characters on them, and five with four)
How do you count that? Looking at my UK keyboard right now, I see one key with 3 characters (granted pipe should really be removed from the "`|" key and just be on the "\|" key) and NO keys with four.
It is a meta-key that is meant to be used in combination with other keys, kind of like shift but rather then sending a signal to the computer to making characters uppercase while being pressed with other keys, it instead sends a signal to the computer that is used to do various other program related tasks.
Are you joking? The obvious purpose of Shift, Ctrl and Alt is that they are Jump, Change weapon and Fire keys in keyboard-based games!
Slashdot Mirror
Erm, I'm not sure you're right there. It was my belief that your connection went through BT's Colossus network to wherever your ISP's uplink was, and connected to the ISP's modems there.
I never quite understood why they call that 'deregulation', could you explain? It seems to me that allowing competitors to use those lines at a reasonable price would REQUIRE government intervention, and regulation, because obviously the phone companies won't do it on their own, and hence DEregulation would actually close the market to competition and allow the monopolies to thrive?
And the State has had a say. They've said that the monopolies can have their cake and eat it!
If it's just the cost of maintaining the line, then where's the incentive to put in new lines and roll out new services?
The incentive is that if they don't do it, the customer will pay someone else to.
Could not they provide voice services over the existing voice lines? Over here in the UK it's perfectly possible for a third party telephony provider to offer a voice service over BT's lines. Running another redundant line to the house would never be considered, as it would be extremely expensive.
Is it not possible, if you can make an explosion powerful enough to generate enough heat, to actually vaporize an asteroid? If so, a 'large blast' may be the answer, but only when we have developed weapons several orders more powerful than the most powerful ones we have today. The asteroid could be melted and dispersed in all directions if we could generate a powerful (and hot) enough blast, ya know one similar to what would happen if the thing went into the sun.
Yep, this is true, although you have to admit we would be horrendusly unlucky if a fatal asteroid did hit us anytime soon.
:-)
Think about it, the dinosaurs had how many million years to develop ways to prevent a fatal disaster? And they didn't have the intelligence too. Intelligent humans have only been around 4/5000 years, and we've already come *incredibly* far. All we need is another 5000, and I predict we'll have moved off Earth and colonized hundreds of other plantets, as well as building permenant space stations, providing there is no fatal disaster. It would be a rather tragic end to humankind if, after only a very small period of time in evolutionary terms, we were wiped out. We should at least be given another million years
Ah, so that's what you mean.
:-)
Actually, the option of 'both hands equally good' occured to me almost immediately, but I stupidly dismissed it as I thought that that couldn't be what the poster was referring to. Most people who are ambidextrous can use both hands with equal skill but will still have a preference as to which hand they use. It's natural to have a preference, i've never heard of someone who doesn't have one. So I think that in actuality there are only 2 real options. Someone who is ambidextrous is unlikely to keep switching their keyboard hand positions, they will just pick their preference (left/right) and stick with it. Things would get annoying if you couldn't decide on one side or the other
Getting rid of the electoral vote would really screw things up. The reason we have it is to level things out and keep a few small but hevily populated areas from controlling the whole country.
Whereas now, you have a few people in rural areas being given WAY more power than a large number of people in urban areas. I just totally disagree with you as to what 'fairness' is. To me, giving each person, no matter where they live, an equal voice in democracy is a lot more fair than giving each similarly-sized region an equal voice.
Besides, only twice in 200 years has someone lost the popular vote and won the electoral, that still does make him president, despite what a few far left-wing liberal hacks would like you to believe.
Of course it makes him president. The 'left-wing liberal hacks' aren't trying to argue that this isn't the case; indeed, they're saying that this is what's wrong with the system, and I agree!
Streamium - Streaming at a premium!
Rather that than the Network Bush Trusts For Fair And Balanced News!
Money.
So what you Americans that don't have huge amounts of money really need, if it isn't blindingly obvious already, is a MUCH fairer system to the ludicrous current electoral system that allows a president to be elected without obtaining the most votes, preferably one that involves PR.
No, I'm not bloody well kidding! Sorry if I sound dumb but I really can't think of two groups of people that aren't right handed!! Unless I'm missing something??!
On a British keyboard, the backslash key i actually in the lower left hand corner, next to the left Shift key.
What is the cracked C-Dilla driver?
It's not really fair to include the key because there's nothing Europeans could do about the need for the extra character (aside from not forming the Euro, but that's another argument :-) If it were to be implemented on US keyboards, they would have the same problem, so it's a rather optional key really.
As for each vowel having 4 characters, come off it. Those 4 characters aren't marked on the key itself. If you're going to start talking about characters that certain keys could POSSIBLY be used for and not characters that are actually marked on the keyboard, you might as well say that every key has over 100 possibilities since keyboards can be totally remapped.
Um, non-right handed(and there are TWO of these groups, think about it) people
Erm, left handed people and....? People with no hands?
Whilst the 'context sensetive menu' key is madness, I have to say that I use the 'Window' key a lot *ducks*
It's incredibly useful (to me) for getting the start menu and taskbar back up on the screen if an application either hogs the whole screen or goes to fullscreen. You must use that or Alt-Tab, except that alt-tab won't work if you don't have any other apps running.
Ah, that's the British keyboard's way of doing things. Usually, the US keyboards have a long thin Enter key like the Tab key, and make use of the space above it to put in a Backslash key (insane, who would want a backslash there? :-)
Some people can't stand them and I'm alright with that
And I'm one of em. I mean what the hell is so ergonomic about one of your hands typing at a right angle to the other one? It feels really unnatural to me. Give me a standard keyboard any day. Ditto for 'palm rests'. I sometimes rest my palms on my desk, and it feels fine. But usually my hands hover above the desk, and I can't type properly if I artificially make my palms 'rest'. Anyway I'm not against choice, just saying how many some of these keyboards seem to be.
Voice regognition??
..."
"tab if Silent equals false left curly bracket newline tab tab printf left round bracket double quote percent sign s double quote comma space Output right round bracket semicolon newline tab right curly bracket space forward slash star space Output debug information space star forward slash newline newline
I think i'll stay with my keyboard thanks.
Don't forget ¦ which is also on the ` and key (it's not a pipe, that's |)
Erm, nope. '¦' is actually on the other one - it's on the same key as the '\' backslash. And it still results in you getting a proper pipe '|'; there, I just used it. The '|' on the key with ` and is actually a proper looking pipe.
The UK keyboard is insane - there are two keys with three characters on them, and five with four)
How do you count that? Looking at my UK keyboard right now, I see one key with 3 characters (granted pipe should really be removed from the "`|" key and just be on the "\|" key) and NO keys with four.
I don't know how you US people can live without a niiiiiiice big return key, like we have on UK keyboards :-) I'd be screwed without it.
keays i have never understood, like "alt"
It is a meta-key that is meant to be used in combination with other keys, kind of like shift but rather then sending a signal to the computer to making characters uppercase while being pressed with other keys, it instead sends a signal to the computer that is used to do various other program related tasks.
Are you joking? The obvious purpose of Shift, Ctrl and Alt is that they are Jump, Change weapon and Fire keys in keyboard-based games!
It's rather important in programming too; it can mean pipe, next command, and OR ("||").