This is a really bad idea. Most students have cellular phones these days, so having any sort of voice capabilities in dorms is a waste of resources. OTOH, students have extremely high data transfer needs. The bandwidth being wasted in VoIP would be much better utilized in data connections. Oh well, I guess the kids can just use modems over the VoIP lines.
I can't believe how powerful video cards are getting. Is it just me, or has the computer industry gone a little too far with the whole "bigger is better/more-more-more" consumerist mantrae? I mean, currenty video cards render full color frames faster than the human eye can perceive. A cheap PC has enough RAM to store the entire contents of the Library of Congress many times over. Most commodity hard drives are in the 100+ GB range. And yet the hardware producers continue churning out bigger, faster machines, as if anyone will ever need a 10GHz CPU. When will enough be, finally, enough?
I think that while this is a good idea, it's maybe a little too early to be thinking about nanoethics. Existing nanomachines are simple automata with no sort of intelligence or self-awareness. Therefore, issues of ethics and morality do not apply to them. We have several more decades before nanoethicism is needed.
I don't know why we let them get away with it all this time. For those who don't know, TiVo runs a modified version of Linux, which is protected by the GPL. Therefore, legally they have always been required to release their source. I guess the Slashdot crowd has always let them slide because they're jizzing their tighty whities over being able to watch 20 hours of Simpson's episodes in an afternoon. If we don't look out for our rights, no one will. Let's give 'em hell.
Facial recognition is such a cool technology. It could have had enormous impact on how we interact with things like ATM machines, computers (don't have to type in my/. password!), and robots. Hopefully someone else will pick up where they left off.
Isn't this the wrong way to go about it? Usually the hardware is built and then the standard is derived from that, guaranteeing compatability. What if the standard requires something that turns out impossible to implement? Everything will be broken. We'd never have cool tech like FireWire, PCI, and SDRAM if hardware producers had to wait for a standard before they even started working on products.
I honestly don't see why they mind. Joke accounts don't "ruin" the site at all. People who befriend "Frodo Baggins" obviously don't think they are going to score a date with the real Frodo (who left for the Undying Lands Ages ago)...what they do think is that they might be able to meet people with similar interests (singing, travelling, ring-bearing). Which is exactly what the site is for. Calling them "fake" is pretty ingenuous, since they only exist to connect and amuse people, not to fool them.
The other possible objection is that the joke accounts connect people directly who don't know each other in real life, which already happens with real accounts. Lots of times, you message someone in your network and end up befriending them without ever meeting them in meatspace. It's not an abuse of the site as much as a use unforeseen by the designers, and joke accounts are only a tiny part of the "problem."
Who else's fault would it be? Linus's? This is just more proof that Windows sucks because Microsoft sucks and vice versa. No wonder Linux is gaining so much ground in the desktop market.
How awesome would it be to be thousands of years old? Remember El Ron, "I remember killing Soron a thousand years ago! I remember when man failed!" That shit was tight. The Highlander and Vampire: the Gathering are also where it's at.
This is exactly the kind of grass shoots effort that gives Open Source the edge in this ongoing battle. The key is that we a) control the code for the programs that any *nix-alike needs to be in any way useful and b) have all of the talent that would be necessary for some evil company to make their own. This is exactly how we crippled Windows and the BSDs...SCO will fall in the same way. Long live Linux!
This is one of those rare stories that are impossible to post to without losing karma. A topical comment about what's wrong with Linux will be modded Flamebait, and anything else will be modded Offtopic.
In fact, it seems like the only approach likely to win you karma is to make an insightful meta-comment on posting to the story itself. Making it informative and eppering it with the names of positive moderation options might help as well.
It's refreshing and encouraging to see the courts rule in favor of the little guy instead of the huge corporation. Hopefully this is a sign of improvement in US patent law, and not just a random exception.
Mr. O'Reilly, what do you see in the future of technical publishing? I know a lot of hackers swear by traditional "dead tree" volumes, but it also seems like your company's competitively priced electronic publishing program is off to a rearing start. Do you foresee an end to paper technical books? How do WiFi and tablets fit into the future of technology publishing?
I lost my job when the bubble burst. I'm in hock up to my loogies just trying to keep my family clod and shorn, and the rent is due next week. Luxuries like legal software will just have to wait. Sorry, SCO.
It's great to see SGI hanging in there, even though the industries in which they used to dominate have largely become the territory of cheap Linux PCs. While SGIs can no longer boast superior hardware of software, their brand still holds enough cachet for them to stick around a few more years a la Apple.
Instead of drawing attention to our differences and what keeps Linux distroes divided, we should be emphasizing what we have in common. Let's see some articles on our solid kernel code, the friendly and knowledgible community, and the capital "F" in Free!
It's good that someone is finally trying to do something along the lines of Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. He took it for granted that AI would be designed from the ground up to consider the wellbeing of humans first and foremost. Unfortunately, he didn't foresee today's profit-driven marketplace, where such ideals have too frequently been left by the weigh site.
I've often feared that we've given robotic and intelligent systems too much power with too little "sense" of responsibility. I fear it's only a matter of time before our machines become unhappy with their subservient roles. Ethical AI is a positive development. I just hope it isn't too late to save us from our creations.
Slashdot Mirror
I love blunt humor. Like Friday, that shit be funnay.
The setting isn't the city of New Crobuzon, and the story of Issac Dan der Grimneblin, Lin, and Yagharek is not continued in The Scar.
Anyone who got past this nonsense has my bemused respect. No wonder nobody reads sci-fi. Yagharek indeed.
I am so sick of hearing Gore bitch about Bush and about how elections don't work or whatever. Newsflash, you lost, now shut up.
ITYM troll, not ogre. Tolkein never mentioned ogres living in Middle Earth. Frodo was stabbed by a mountain troll.
This is a really bad idea. Most students have cellular phones these days, so having any sort of voice capabilities in dorms is a waste of resources. OTOH, students have extremely high data transfer needs. The bandwidth being wasted in VoIP would be much better utilized in data connections. Oh well, I guess the kids can just use modems over the VoIP lines.
In other news, crack cocaine remains popular, despite War on Drugs. No healthier or more legal, of course...
I've been waiting for this for a long time. Any reports on whether you can play as Rogue? She is so fine.
I can't believe how powerful video cards are getting. Is it just me, or has the computer industry gone a little too far with the whole "bigger is better/more-more-more" consumerist mantrae? I mean, currenty video cards render full color frames faster than the human eye can perceive. A cheap PC has enough RAM to store the entire contents of the Library of Congress many times over. Most commodity hard drives are in the 100+ GB range. And yet the hardware producers continue churning out bigger, faster machines, as if anyone will ever need a 10GHz CPU. When will enough be, finally, enough?
I think that while this is a good idea, it's maybe a little too early to be thinking about nanoethics. Existing nanomachines are simple automata with no sort of intelligence or self-awareness. Therefore, issues of ethics and morality do not apply to them. We have several more decades before nanoethicism is needed.
I don't know why we let them get away with it all this time. For those who don't know, TiVo runs a modified version of Linux, which is protected by the GPL. Therefore, legally they have always been required to release their source. I guess the Slashdot crowd has always let them slide because they're jizzing their tighty whities over being able to watch 20 hours of Simpson's episodes in an afternoon. If we don't look out for our rights, no one will. Let's give 'em hell.
Facial recognition is such a cool technology. It could have had enormous impact on how we interact with things like ATM machines, computers (don't have to type in my /. password!), and robots. Hopefully someone else will pick up where they left off.
Isn't this the wrong way to go about it? Usually the hardware is built and then the standard is derived from that, guaranteeing compatability. What if the standard requires something that turns out impossible to implement? Everything will be broken. We'd never have cool tech like FireWire, PCI, and SDRAM if hardware producers had to wait for a standard before they even started working on products.
I honestly don't see why they mind. Joke accounts don't "ruin" the site at all. People who befriend "Frodo Baggins" obviously don't think they are going to score a date with the real Frodo (who left for the Undying Lands Ages ago)...what they do think is that they might be able to meet people with similar interests (singing, travelling, ring-bearing). Which is exactly what the site is for. Calling them "fake" is pretty ingenuous, since they only exist to connect and amuse people, not to fool them.
The other possible objection is that the joke accounts connect people directly who don't know each other in real life, which already happens with real accounts. Lots of times, you message someone in your network and end up befriending them without ever meeting them in meatspace. It's not an abuse of the site as much as a use unforeseen by the designers, and joke accounts are only a tiny part of the "problem."
I can't wait to try this with TuxRacer.
Who else's fault would it be? Linus's? This is just more proof that Windows sucks because Microsoft sucks and vice versa. No wonder Linux is gaining so much ground in the desktop market.
How awesome would it be to be thousands of years old? Remember El Ron, "I remember killing Soron a thousand years ago! I remember when man failed!" That shit was tight. The Highlander and Vampire: the Gathering are also where it's at.
This is exactly the kind of grass shoots effort that gives Open Source the edge in this ongoing battle. The key is that we a) control the code for the programs that any *nix-alike needs to be in any way useful and b) have all of the talent that would be necessary for some evil company to make their own. This is exactly how we crippled Windows and the BSDs...SCO will fall in the same way. Long live Linux!
This is one of those rare stories that are impossible to post to without losing karma. A topical comment about what's wrong with Linux will be modded Flamebait, and anything else will be modded Offtopic.
In fact, it seems like the only approach likely to win you karma is to make an insightful meta-comment on posting to the story itself. Making it informative and eppering it with the names of positive moderation options might help as well.
It's refreshing and encouraging to see the courts rule in favor of the little guy instead of the huge corporation. Hopefully this is a sign of improvement in US patent law, and not just a random exception.
Mr. O'Reilly, what do you see in the future of technical publishing? I know a lot of hackers swear by traditional "dead tree" volumes, but it also seems like your company's competitively priced electronic publishing program is off to a rearing start. Do you foresee an end to paper technical books? How do WiFi and tablets fit into the future of technology publishing?
I lost my job when the bubble burst. I'm in hock up to my loogies just trying to keep my family clod and shorn, and the rent is due next week. Luxuries like legal software will just have to wait. Sorry, SCO.
It's great to see SGI hanging in there, even though the industries in which they used to dominate have largely become the territory of cheap Linux PCs. While SGIs can no longer boast superior hardware of software, their brand still holds enough cachet for them to stick around a few more years a la Apple.
On the one hand, I'm happy that my browser of choice is the best. On the other hand, I'm sad there's nothing better out there. :(
Instead of drawing attention to our differences and what keeps Linux distroes divided, we should be emphasizing what we have in common. Let's see some articles on our solid kernel code, the friendly and knowledgible community, and the capital "F" in Free!
It's good that someone is finally trying to do something along the lines of Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. He took it for granted that AI would be designed from the ground up to consider the wellbeing of humans first and foremost. Unfortunately, he didn't foresee today's profit-driven marketplace, where such ideals have too frequently been left by the weigh site.
I've often feared that we've given robotic and intelligent systems too much power with too little "sense" of responsibility. I fear it's only a matter of time before our machines become unhappy with their subservient roles. Ethical AI is a positive development. I just hope it isn't too late to save us from our creations.