A better place to start would be to explain why I should put up with a switch to a bunch of mostly unfamiliar measures of distance, volume, and temperature?
Because honestly, the "big problem" for imperial measures (lots of weird measures with odd conversions) really has never been a problem for me. It doesn't matter what a rod or a hogshead is (or a bushel, or a dram, or how many teaspoons in a gallon, or inches in a mile) because I pretty much never need to know (and if I do need to know, I can just google it).
For US$20, I get 90 days + 120 minutes (+ usually a bonus 20 minutes). If you need more minutes, they're not that expensive.
You have your choice of phones. You can get a Smart Phone if you want, but you can also get a relatively primitive phone for US$20. I've got one of the cheaper ones. Supports texting (although I've only used that a little bit) and web browsing.
Best of all, it's pay-as-you-go, and so all it takes to "opt out" is to stop buying renewal time.
I think it's a fair assumption that anyone willing to assemble a computer from parts is going to have stuff like spare keyboards, mice, and what-not lying around.
And who doesn't have a USB drive anymore?
Also (at least where I live) the library has publicly accessible computers (although a library card is required here). You may also need to get your distro via torrent, depending on available bandwidth, restrictions on duration you can use the computer, and the distro size.
I think the real cheat is any budget that involves a mail-in rebate.
... aren't intelligent enough to assess the quality of their own thinking.
Oh, but thankfully, you are free of this terrible malady! Please, please, mister smart person... tell us again how the science is settled, the time for debate is over?
I already have a HUGE set of properly formatted equations all nicely written out, it's called the Book.
1) You never had an instructor talk about something not in the text?
2) Personally, I find taking notes during lecture (or reading a text!) helps me retain the information, even if I already have my own record of what's being discussed.
If you survive the initial peril (the next thirty hours or so), then there are obvious procedures that can give relative safety: Do not accept High Beyond protocol packets. At the very least, route all communications through Middle Beyond sites, with translation down to, and then up from, local trade languages.
These are the people who have enough money to buy things like bicycles, motor bikes, televisions, and cell phones. A great many would love to own a computer [...] But they can't afford the price.
There is a local store that sells "refurbished" computers. Last time I was there, they were selling 800mhz x86s for US$100, and 2000mhz for US$200 (price includes monitor, keyboard and mouse). Maybe they can't buy a new computer, but if you've got a C note to spare, you can get a computer.
Another anecdote: last year, a place having a yard sale had some computers out. I picked up a 800mhz x86 box for US$25. It had a tiny HD and not very much RAM, but it worked (and works: it's the computer I'm using right now).
I asked JWZ about [getting the source code for Netscape 3] a while back, he said he'd tried to get it and no joy
As I recall, back when Netscape wanted to make their browser open source, the big issue was dealing with various 3rd-party libraries that were used (and not interested in giving away their product).
That's why they decided to create Mozilla as a ground-up implementation.
'We discovered that people are not like Neo in The Matrix,'
By which, I assume he meant "the people they tested, under the test conditions they used, did not experience a time slow-down effect similar to the one depicted for Neo in The Matrix.
...they're off visiting all the other jillions of interesting sentients throughout the universe?
It seems to me in order for the "Fermi paradox" to be a problem, you've got to assume that the development of intelligent, spacefaring sentients is really, really, common.
Suppose, for example, we assume that we get found by someone detecting our radio broadcasts. According to this, the first commercial radio broadcast was in 1920. The wave-front from that broadcast is now a sphere ~43 light years in radius. According to this, the Milky Way galaxy has a diameter of 100,000 light years.
Using a 2D (because I don't have the math or the data for a 3D) model: a disc of radius 43LY has area 43*43*pi = 5.8E3 LY^2. For the galaxy, A=50000*50000*pi = 7.8E9. So our broadcast sphere has covered 0.00007% of our own galaxy.
So even if there is another sentient spacefaring species out their zipping around in their FTL ships, they'd have to be looking really hard just to get down to the granularity necessary to look in our little corner of the galaxy.
And what if you assume the development of sentient life is unlikely? What if the nearest one is in, say, the LMC? What if FTL travel is impossible, or just really hard? We might never meet one.
In so many websites (and yeah, Slashdot, I'm lookin' at you) every square inch of screen space seems to be cram-jam full of content, pictures, navigation menus, adds, sidebars, logos...
Slashdot Mirror
A better place to start would be to explain why I should put up with a switch to a bunch of mostly unfamiliar measures of distance, volume, and temperature?
Because honestly, the "big problem" for imperial measures (lots of weird measures with odd conversions) really has never been a problem for me. It doesn't matter what a rod or a hogshead is (or a bushel, or a dram, or how many teaspoons in a gallon, or inches in a mile) because I pretty much never need to know (and if I do need to know, I can just google it).
I have a Tracfone, and like it pretty well.
For US$20, I get 90 days + 120 minutes (+ usually a bonus 20 minutes). If you need more minutes, they're not that expensive.
You have your choice of phones. You can get a Smart Phone if you want, but you can also get a relatively primitive phone for US$20. I've got one of the cheaper ones. Supports texting (although I've only used that a little bit) and web browsing.
Best of all, it's pay-as-you-go, and so all it takes to "opt out" is to stop buying renewal time.
The "aliens have visited the moon" is a pretty common trope in SF (2001: A Space Odyssey, In the Ocean of Night, Inherit the Stars, and many others).
While this makes a tolerable MacGuffin, somebody probably needs to tell these guys that it's not real.
Yeah, no argument there.
Nah, too easy.
In my original timeline, the zombie apocalypse was initially triggered by roving gangs of grammar Nazis.
Oh, but thankfully, you are free of this terrible malady! Please, please, mister smart person... tell us again how the science is settled, the time for debate is over?
"global superintelligence known as the cloud."
You're welcome.
Best way to stay trouble free on Windows? Don't use IE. Or Outlook. Or IIS.
1) You never had an instructor talk about something not in the text?
2) Personally, I find taking notes during lecture (or reading a text!) helps me retain the information, even if I already have my own record of what's being discussed.
If you survive the initial peril (the next thirty hours or so), then there are obvious procedures that can give relative safety: Do not accept High Beyond protocol packets. At the very least, route all communications through Middle Beyond sites, with translation down to, and then up from, local trade languages.
Pirate Bay is not the same as dimeadozen, zomb, traders den, etc.
These are the people who have enough money to buy things like bicycles, motor bikes, televisions, and cell phones. A great many would love to own a computer [...] But they can't afford the price.
There is a local store that sells "refurbished" computers. Last time I was there, they were selling 800mhz x86s for US$100, and 2000mhz for US$200 (price includes monitor, keyboard and mouse). Maybe they can't buy a new computer, but if you've got a C note to spare, you can get a computer.
Another anecdote: last year, a place having a yard sale had some computers out. I picked up a 800mhz x86 box for US$25. It had a tiny HD and not very much RAM, but it worked (and works: it's the computer I'm using right now).
How are "light echoes" different from "reflections"?
Now they just have to figure out what those properties are.
1) Does it taste like chicken?
OK, thanks for the reply.
I thought 1 core == 1 thread of execution?
Or are they talking about some kind of extra hardware support for multitasking?
Axioms are invented. Theorems are discovered.
As I recall, back when Netscape wanted to make their browser open source, the big issue was dealing with various 3rd-party libraries that were used (and not interested in giving away their product).
That's why they decided to create Mozilla as a ground-up implementation.
It omits the nearly full, nearly perigee moon that is so insanely bright you can't see another thing in the sky.
Oh, well. I guess I'll look again Saturday or Sunday.
Bah. Of course, that should be 87LY in radius. Oh, well.
...they're off visiting all the other jillions of interesting sentients throughout the universe?
It seems to me in order for the "Fermi paradox" to be a problem, you've got to assume that the development of intelligent, spacefaring sentients is really, really, common.
Suppose, for example, we assume that we get found by someone detecting our radio broadcasts. According to this, the first commercial radio broadcast was in 1920. The wave-front from that broadcast is now a sphere ~43 light years in radius. According to this, the Milky Way galaxy has a diameter of 100,000 light years.
Using a 2D (because I don't have the math or the data for a 3D) model: a disc of radius 43LY has area 43*43*pi = 5.8E3 LY^2. For the galaxy, A=50000*50000*pi = 7.8E9. So our broadcast sphere has covered 0.00007% of our own galaxy.
So even if there is another sentient spacefaring species out their zipping around in their FTL ships, they'd have to be looking really hard just to get down to the granularity necessary to look in our little corner of the galaxy.
And what if you assume the development of sentient life is unlikely? What if the nearest one is in, say, the LMC? What if FTL travel is impossible, or just really hard? We might never meet one.
...is that nobody seems to care about margins.
In so many websites (and yeah, Slashdot, I'm lookin' at you) every square inch of screen space seems to be cram-jam full of content, pictures, navigation menus, adds, sidebars, logos...
Stop. Please... just stop.