Reading the article I get the impression the "payment" is really just a way of rationing the power between several consumers wired through meters to the solar panel (they're on a "micro-grid" within 50 meters of the panel). I assume the price they pay is also very low, and with so little power available to share there's plenty of incentive to self-police.
Between 2009 and 2010, Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) averaged EBITDA service margin of 46.4% per quarter. In the first quarter that the iPhone went on sale, that fell to 43.7%. Last quarter, when Verizon sold a record 4.2 million iPhones, its margin plunged to 42.2%.
Gee, margin "plunged" from 46.4% to 42.2%. It sounds like their profits have dropped from really, really obscene to just really, really obscene. I need to get out my tiny violin and start playing it for them.
I'm more concerned (as I'm a college IT administrator myself) on the question of censorship. From what I understand censorship is only a First Amendment issue when the government is doing the censorship.
I agree that this doesn't seem to be a First Amendment/Free Speech issue. But it would be interesting to see what other sites are blocked by the university. If they routinely blacklist sites that are spamming students there's nothing to see here. Otherwise this appears to be a bit petty on their part; although using the university's network/email to mount a protest against the university seems like a plan that needs to be thought through a bit more.
And the third paragraph: "developing viSparsh under technical guidance of professor Rahul Mangharam of the University of Pennsylvania". So maybe Penn is more important than Indian? It's not clear from the article where they're located, I think it would be more relevant if they had said "Engineers in India" or "Engineers in Philadelphia" rather than their nationality.
What is much harder is to make it both easy to vote and make it difficult to cast a fraudulent vote.
I didn't see anything in the linked article about reducing fraud. The goal is to "include citizens with diverse cultural backgrounds, technology experiences, literacy and language proficiency, and abilities".
Is there any scientific study showing how much these seismic impulses, from air guns or from other giant synthetic "pings", increase the rate and/or intensity of earthquakes?
According to the article, that's part of the field tests they're doing now.
I understand what the word "clone" means. But you couldn't (legally) clone the band unless you also invest in the rights to their music. I also know copyright isn't property; it gives you the "right" to control use of the property. So in this case you couldn't legally clone the band without incurring some expense (unless we're both playing public domain music). Since the success of my concert depends on my band having the exclusive right to perform the music, you would have to pay a lot to clone my band. Don't like those terms? Compete with me, but don't steal from me.
It is more like I try to sell tickets to concert, and you have clones of the band who put on the same show at no cost in a nearby park that anyone can enter.
No, that would be competing with you, which is entirely different and perfectly fine. If I have a clone of the band I (and they) have a significant investment in time and materials to be able to write and perform the music. Sneaking people into your concert is not the same as producing my own concert.
You can't just increase taxes and expect corporations to passively accept lower profit margins; they will respond. And the response will be to move all operations offshore and become a foreign company. Then you can try to recover the lost revenue and jobs by increasing tariffs, but there's a problem with that if the economy continues to spiral down the drain (with is would as the unemployment goes up). Like it or not the whole tax system is a balancing act.
One of these things is not like the other:
I steal your car. Now you do not have a car.
I copy your music. Now we both have music.
Suppose you decide to sell tickets to a concert. But I tell perspective ticket buyers that I can open the basement door and let them in for free. In the end you only sell 1/4 the number of tickets you would have if I hadn't let most of the fans in for free. I didn't harm you? You lost your shirt because you weren't paid for the work and costs you incurred, but the concert still went on, right?
More or less, it’s Steam (the online PC game distribution client) for movies. It allows you to rent or download your favorite films with ease, build a library and watch cross devices and share with your friends.
Actually I did read the entire article; "free" was a slight exaggeration (next time change the batteries in your sarcasm detector). But his basic argument as I read it is that content producers should reduce their price to the point that it isn't worth the trouble to get it for free by download from a pirate site. I don't see how this would eliminate piracy though.
If I missed something there, please correct me.
True that a small percentage of the profit is being spent today. But take away all the oil related jobs and income taxes collected from those jobs and the numbers are a lot different.
Most of NASA's budget in the early days wasn't about scientific experiments. It was about developing spy satellite capabilities. The US wanted heavy lift rockets that could boost remote sensing and relay satellites into orbit. That's also why the shuttle was it size it was; think about how nicely the Hubble fit in that cargo bay, think about how nice the pictures would be if it turned around and looked down instead of up...
Today there's no need for a cover story like beating the USSR to the Moon.
And the only reason the Soviets beat the US with Sputnik was because at the time it wasn't clear if an Earth orbiting craft violated a country's "airspace". Once the precedent was established (and nobody complained about it) the US space program was off and running.
It sounds like you want a Local Positioning System. Not available as an out-of-the-box solution yet (AFAIK), but will probably become popular within the next few years.
Slashdot Mirror
Reading the article I get the impression the "payment" is really just a way of rationing the power between several consumers wired through meters to the solar panel (they're on a "micro-grid" within 50 meters of the panel). I assume the price they pay is also very low, and with so little power available to share there's plenty of incentive to self-police.
They've had radios longer than you've had cell phones
Between 2009 and 2010, Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) averaged EBITDA service margin of 46.4% per quarter. In the first quarter that the iPhone went on sale, that fell to 43.7%. Last quarter, when Verizon sold a record 4.2 million iPhones, its margin plunged to 42.2%.
Gee, margin "plunged" from 46.4% to 42.2%. It sounds like their profits have dropped from really, really obscene to just really, really obscene. I need to get out my tiny violin and start playing it for them.
I'm more concerned (as I'm a college IT administrator myself) on the question of censorship. From what I understand censorship is only a First Amendment issue when the government is doing the censorship.
I agree that this doesn't seem to be a First Amendment/Free Speech issue. But it would be interesting to see what other sites are blocked by the university. If they routinely blacklist sites that are spamming students there's nothing to see here. Otherwise this appears to be a bit petty on their part; although using the university's network/email to mount a protest against the university seems like a plan that needs to be thought through a bit more.
And the third paragraph: "developing viSparsh under technical guidance of professor Rahul Mangharam of the University of Pennsylvania". So maybe Penn is more important than Indian? It's not clear from the article where they're located, I think it would be more relevant if they had said "Engineers in India" or "Engineers in Philadelphia" rather than their nationality.
Design wise, Siri was one of the "you're not cool unless you have this" features that Apple used to dupe their customers into buying a new phone.
What is much harder is to make it both easy to vote and make it difficult to cast a fraudulent vote.
I didn't see anything in the linked article about reducing fraud. The goal is to "include citizens with diverse cultural backgrounds, technology experiences, literacy and language proficiency, and abilities".
Is there any scientific study showing how much these seismic impulses, from air guns or from other giant synthetic "pings", increase the rate and/or intensity of earthquakes?
According to the article, that's part of the field tests they're doing now.
Attila Nemeth, a 26 year-old Hungarian citizen
Atilla the Hun
Quantity has a quality all it's own.
Quantity has a quality all it's own.
Up to a point. But the Battle of 73 Easting is a good example of what can happen when superior technology is used against superior numbers
Casualties and losses:
American/British: 1 Bradley IFV is destroyed,1 killed, 12+ wounded
Iraqi: 85 tanks, 40 armored personnel carriers, 30 wheeled vehicles, 600 killed or wounded to thousands killed
I understand what the word "clone" means. But you couldn't (legally) clone the band unless you also invest in the rights to their music. I also know copyright isn't property; it gives you the "right" to control use of the property. So in this case you couldn't legally clone the band without incurring some expense (unless we're both playing public domain music). Since the success of my concert depends on my band having the exclusive right to perform the music, you would have to pay a lot to clone my band. Don't like those terms? Compete with me, but don't steal from me.
It is more like I try to sell tickets to concert, and you have clones of the band who put on the same show at no cost in a nearby park that anyone can enter.
No, that would be competing with you, which is entirely different and perfectly fine. If I have a clone of the band I (and they) have a significant investment in time and materials to be able to write and perform the music. Sneaking people into your concert is not the same as producing my own concert.
You can't just increase taxes and expect corporations to passively accept lower profit margins; they will respond. And the response will be to move all operations offshore and become a foreign company. Then you can try to recover the lost revenue and jobs by increasing tariffs, but there's a problem with that if the economy continues to spiral down the drain (with is would as the unemployment goes up). Like it or not the whole tax system is a balancing act.
One of these things is not like the other: I steal your car. Now you do not have a car. I copy your music. Now we both have music.
Suppose you decide to sell tickets to a concert. But I tell perspective ticket buyers that I can open the basement door and let them in for free. In the end you only sell 1/4 the number of tickets you would have if I hadn't let most of the fans in for free. I didn't harm you? You lost your shirt because you weren't paid for the work and costs you incurred, but the concert still went on, right?
More or less, it’s Steam (the online PC game distribution client) for movies. It allows you to rent or download your favorite films with ease, build a library and watch cross devices and share with your friends.
Actually I did read the entire article; "free" was a slight exaggeration (next time change the batteries in your sarcasm detector). But his basic argument as I read it is that content producers should reduce their price to the point that it isn't worth the trouble to get it for free by download from a pirate site. I don't see how this would eliminate piracy though. If I missed something there, please correct me.
The British Queen has daily meetings where she's the only one sitting.
Is she sitting on the throne during those meetings?
His solution seems to be "Give everything away for free, then it won't get stolen". Nothing wrong with that business model.
He also rationalizes that downloading is okay because it's not like you actually stole a physical object - so it's not really stealing, right?
More likely it will motivate the FBI to stop using clear email and phone lines. Phone Pheaks have been doing this kind of eavesdropping for decades.
True that a small percentage of the profit is being spent today. But take away all the oil related jobs and income taxes collected from those jobs and the numbers are a lot different.
Norway can afford all kinds of nice things thanks to North Sea oil. Few other countries have that luxury.
Shouldn't that 5 mile lump of melted uranium melt right through the Earth and come out in China?
We should really write NPR to stop with the rhetorical "it was part of Agent Orange!"
Yes. It's the same as If they wrote an article on petroleum and headlined it by saying it was an ingredient in napalm that was used in Vietnam.
Your alternative is to cover it with solar panels? Thanks, but I'd prefer a lake.
Most of NASA's budget in the early days wasn't about scientific experiments. It was about developing spy satellite capabilities. The US wanted heavy lift rockets that could boost remote sensing and relay satellites into orbit. That's also why the shuttle was it size it was; think about how nicely the Hubble fit in that cargo bay, think about how nice the pictures would be if it turned around and looked down instead of up...
Today there's no need for a cover story like beating the USSR to the Moon.
And the only reason the Soviets beat the US with Sputnik was because at the time it wasn't clear if an Earth orbiting craft violated a country's "airspace". Once the precedent was established (and nobody complained about it) the US space program was off and running.
It sounds like you want a Local Positioning System. Not available as an out-of-the-box solution yet (AFAIK), but will probably become popular within the next few years.