I'm not familiar with Lois McMaster Bujold's work, would you be willing to write a review or two? And I have to be surprised that Brin is found to be cooler than Stephenson (but this means the sf-reading community in general is less geeky than the/. community, no surprises there). --
Dear Cowsters, What do you envision as being the preeminent issue (problem, whatever) with regards to computer security (from the individual or corporate perspective) in the next 10 years? Merci --
Ummm, you forgot something: all of these consultants and media run on money -- lots of it -- M$ has it -- most of it -- and they will feel much pain if M$ takes it away. Just what are they supposed to do, when their whole business model relies on this sort of payoff? I'm reminded of a quotation from 101 Dalmatians: "The humans have tried everything: it's up to us dogs now." Well, it's up to us geeks now. There will be nothing but more Mindcraft and Gartner from the mainstream. --
No, really, c'mon. You have to say this for M$, they are patient. Like being run over by a glacier (Ask any OS/2 developer). They are just plannning ahead for the next phase, when whatever exists after the end of the current antitrust litigation moves on to dominate another market. They just mean to win next time, and since they have 90% of all the money in the world it can't hurt to spread some more around DC -- might help? This is why I'm not to hot on the comprehensive test-ban treaty: without reliable nuclear weapons how can the United States defend itself against Redmond? --
Re:Don't disagree with what it didn't say
on
Gartner Slams Linux
·
· Score: 2
What about the title? "Death knell for Linux" my skinny white *ss. This article is just more FUD, or perhaps more accurately (as you might say) it is being spun as FUD no matter what the article actually says. I think the flames are knee-jerk too but they are none the less justified. --
No, it's okay, you can tap guitar strings against the frets just using your fingers. It makes a different sound, usually a horrible one unless you are Michael Hedges or Stevie Ray Vaughan or Jimi Hendrix... HEY! WAITAMINUTE! THEY'RE ALL DEAD!! Coincidence......? Dang this wiretapping stuff is more subtle than I thought... dangerous too... --
... No, sorry, this technology is not useful for tracking somebody's movements or similar types of surveillance. The repeat rate is too low because of the low orbits these sensors must use. I spose with enough money and fuel you can do something like that, but I doubt OI has that kind of capability on Ikonos. Still, your local police department can definitely check up on your backyard and see if you're putting up any illegal crops... enough of a threat to privacy. --
I think the first and most common use of this sort of biotechnology will be to correct some of the more horrible genetic defects out there which prevent children from living long and happy lives -- cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs disease, that sort of thing -- NOT 'tuning' of intelligence or physical prowess. Technology exists now to discover the presence of some of these diseases before birth -- but so far no such genes for smarts or basketball have been discovered (and imho won't be). So don't think 'designer babies,' think 'healthy normal babies...' In the *far* future perhaps 'designer babies' will be possible but I think that's a lot longer down the road than most journalists appreciate. --
Naaah, you missed my point by so far we actually agree on most of this stuff. I was commenting on the message delivered by the article more than the contents. Three words: SAR. CAS. M. Although I have to disagree on the marketing thing. Took Gate$ years and years of actually *selling* stuff (garbage, of course, and using ruthless tactics) to make his billions whereas Clark did it practically overnight without even having anything to sell, twice. In neither case was your mysterious "logic on the blood stream" involved. Which, imho, is bad for the consumer as well as techies. Cheers z --
Hey Folks, I remember when the Apple Newton came out that it seemed like a very familiar device: Handheld computer, holds mostly personal data and contacts, modified (limited) input, infrared deelie to communicate with a larger computer, invented in the 1990s... Yep, Clarke described the PDA (he called it the Minisec) in his 1976 novel Imperial Earth. Of course in that novel the Titanic was raised and brought to New York as a tourist attraction... Still think his record is better than Nostradamus or modern prognosticators. Z --
The writing sets the Victorian mood very well, but it can be challenging, especially if you're looking for the exuberance of Snow Crash.
Spot on! I think both novels had a high style:substance ratio and were significant achievements in style. I just didn't like the Gothic-esque style of Diamond Age (just my own personal preference, this is not criticism). Cheers --
Having no decent remainder bins in in my neighborhood bookstores I've never run across this novel. I will now diligently search, thanks to your review.
On a related topic, I thought Snow Crash was a wonderful read but Diamond Age disappointed me because I thought it was a tad too serious. But I'm looking forward to reading both Cryptonomicon and The Big U. --
Yeah, it was a couple of carelessly written columns, but really the only thing that upset me greatly was the implication that Linux didn't have what it takes in part because it was "'60s technology." Petreley had the right answer to that ("... it's called Ethernet") but I think we have to allow for the idea that the latest, newest thing isn't necessarily the best! How many people have traveled to the moon using 90's technology? (0) How many spacecraft have left the solar system using 90's technology? (0) And, heck, I'm '60s technology (not necessarily a good example). But, I don't think we should rule out using technology just because it is old. Just my 2E-2 ($). Z
Slashdot Mirror
I'm not familiar with Lois McMaster Bujold's work, would you be willing to write a review or two? And I have to be surprised that Brin is found to be cooler than Stephenson (but this means the sf-reading community in general is less geeky than the /. community, no surprises there).
--
Dear Cowsters, What do you envision as being the preeminent issue (problem, whatever) with regards to computer security (from the individual or corporate perspective) in the next 10 years? Merci
--
Ummm, you forgot something: all of these consultants and media run on money -- lots of it -- M$ has it -- most of it -- and they will feel much pain if M$ takes it away. Just what are they supposed to do, when their whole business model relies on this sort of payoff? I'm reminded of a quotation from 101 Dalmatians: "The humans have tried everything: it's up to us dogs now." Well, it's up to us geeks now. There will be nothing but more Mindcraft and Gartner from the mainstream.
--
No, really, c'mon. You have to say this for M$, they are patient. Like being run over by a glacier (Ask any OS/2 developer). They are just plannning ahead for the next phase, when whatever exists after the end of the current antitrust litigation moves on to dominate another market. They just mean to win next time, and since they have 90% of all the money in the world it can't hurt to spread some more around DC -- might help? This is why I'm not to hot on the comprehensive test-ban treaty: without reliable nuclear weapons how can the United States defend itself against Redmond?
--
What about the title? "Death knell for Linux" my skinny white *ss. This article is just more FUD, or perhaps more accurately (as you might say) it is being spun as FUD no matter what the article actually says. I think the flames are knee-jerk too but they are none the less justified.
--
Use their NT box for something other than a doorstop!
--
No, it's okay, you can tap guitar strings against the frets just using your fingers. It makes a different sound, usually a horrible one unless you are Michael Hedges or Stevie Ray Vaughan or Jimi Hendrix ... HEY! WAITAMINUTE! THEY'RE ALL DEAD!! Coincidence......? Dang this wiretapping stuff is more subtle than I thought... dangerous too...
--
... No, sorry, this technology is not useful for tracking somebody's movements or similar types of surveillance. The repeat rate is too low because of the low orbits these sensors must use. I spose with enough money and fuel you can do something like that, but I doubt OI has that kind of capability on Ikonos. Still, your local police department can definitely check up on your backyard and see if you're putting up any illegal crops ... enough of a threat to privacy.
--
I think the first and most common use of this sort
of biotechnology will be to correct some of the more horrible genetic defects out there which prevent children from living long and happy lives -- cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs disease, that sort of thing -- NOT 'tuning' of intelligence or physical prowess. Technology exists now to discover the presence of some of these diseases before birth -- but so far no such genes for smarts or basketball have been discovered (and imho won't be). So don't think 'designer babies,' think 'healthy normal babies...' In the *far* future perhaps 'designer babies' will be possible but I think that's a lot longer down the road than most journalists appreciate.
--
Naaah, you missed my point by so far we actually agree on most of this stuff. I was commenting on the message delivered by the article more than the contents. Three words: SAR. CAS. M.
Although I have to disagree on the marketing thing. Took Gate$ years and years of actually *selling* stuff (garbage, of course, and using ruthless tactics) to make his billions whereas Clark did it practically overnight without even having anything to sell, twice. In neither case was your mysterious "logic on the blood stream" involved. Which, imho, is bad for the consumer as well as techies.
Cheers z
--
Oooh, my pain gets worse.... you are right of course...
--
Did I miss anything? Did that hurt you as much as it hurt me?
--
Hey Folks,
I remember when the Apple Newton came out that it seemed like a very familiar device: Handheld computer, holds mostly personal data and contacts, modified (limited) input, infrared deelie to communicate with a larger computer, invented in the 1990s... Yep, Clarke described the PDA (he called it the Minisec) in his 1976 novel Imperial Earth. Of course in that novel the Titanic was raised and brought to New York as a tourist attraction... Still think his record is better than Nostradamus or modern prognosticators.
Z
--
The writing sets the Victorian mood very well, but it can be challenging, especially if you're looking for the exuberance of Snow Crash.
Spot on! I think both novels had a high style:substance ratio and were significant achievements in style. I just didn't like the Gothic-esque style of Diamond Age (just my own personal preference, this is not criticism). Cheers
--
Having no decent remainder bins in in my neighborhood bookstores I've never run across this novel. I will now diligently search, thanks to your review.
On a related topic, I thought Snow Crash was a wonderful read but Diamond Age disappointed me because I thought it was a tad too serious. But I'm looking forward to reading both Cryptonomicon and The Big U.
--
Yeah, it was a couple of carelessly written columns, but really the only thing that upset me greatly was the implication that Linux didn't have what it takes in part because it was "'60s technology." Petreley had the right answer to that ("... it's called Ethernet") but I think we have to allow for the idea that the latest, newest thing isn't necessarily the best! How many people have traveled to the moon using 90's technology? (0) How many spacecraft have left the solar system using 90's technology? (0) And, heck, I'm '60s technology (not necessarily a good example). But, I don't think we should rule out using technology just because it is old. Just my 2E-2 ($). Z