You have been brain-washed, you have lost, have a good day.
There isn't a terrorist that is going to give himself the trouble of digging his way into permafrost and into 70 feet of ground just to get some non-weapons-grade uranium about 30 inches in diameter and 6 feet tall which is at 932-degree when he (she) has the opportunity of buying it directly from the USA government, or any government for that matter. (If you think I'm trolling go read a history book explaining the correlation between the governement and the "terrorist groups".)
No the best conspiracy theory would be Microsoft buying a company that might have a small possibility of IP claims (however outrageous) against Linux in general. And then using a huge amount of money into pursuing it... and try to kill linux once again... then integrate (badly) all the good ideas of the bought company into it's own product...
France's Minitel: 20 years young
By James Arnold
BBC News Online business reporter
State of the art, in 1983 and today
The history of the internet is measured in dog years - if you've been using it for 12 months, you're an old hand; since the 1990s, and you're a veteran.
But as far back as 1983, a band of pioneers started using electronic networks to communicate, share information and work more efficiently.
No, not Silicon Valley geeks, nor US military scientists - but ordinary French people, long derided as the worst of technophobic old Europe.
Minitel, France's precursor to the internet, is 20 years old, and rumours of its demise have repeatedly proved exaggerated.
Indeed, Minitel may be about to come of age.
Lean and mean
Calling Minitel a proto-internet may be a bit of a stretch, but it is not far off.
Unlike the internet, Minitel is a closed network, based on the phone system of its owner, France Telecom.
Using one of its prehistoric-seeming terminals, users can access a labyrinth of proprietary content, all of it determinedly low-graphics and designed for speed.
It may be unlovely, but, says Christian Grezes, Minitel's marketing director, it's every bit as functional as the worldwide web.
"It's perfect for quick answers to little questions - phone numbers, train times, that kind of thing," he says.
"You get the first three minutes free, so most people just dip in and out."
For those who want to linger, there are at least 13,000 services now available, including instant messaging, news, horoscopes, games, shopping and classified ads.
Paper profits
This bustling network sprang out of a surprisingly mundane ambition - to save France Telecom money on printing phone books.
Mr Grezes reckons Minitel can shape the internet's future
Urged on by a government - then in control of the company - keen to give the country a technological jolt, France Telecom offered customers free electronic terminals to provide directory assistance.
In the spirit of experimentation, France Telecom set up a payment system, allowing clients to invoice Minitel transactions to their phone bill, and invited service providers to start providing content.
"The results was not what we expected at all," says Mr Grezes.
"We had assumed people might use Minitel just for administrative business - paying bills and so on. In fact, people developed all sorts of surprising ways of getting the most out of the system."
Minitel devised a little battleship game, for example - but discovered that clients were using the text line at the bottom of the page to chat.
From that discovery sprang Minitel's messageries conviviales service, which now accounts for almost one-fifth of its traffic.
Terminal decline?
That traffic, by the way, is massive.
At its peak, around 1997, there were more than six million terminals in use, and payments worth about $750m passed through the system - roughly equivalent in size to the entire US e-commerce market at the time.
The growing lure of the internet, and the clunkiness of the Minitel terminals, has since started a sharp decline in volume.
Only $500m-worth of business was done over Minitel last year, and users spent 47 million hours online, a slump of 19% year-on-year.
Old-style Minitel is huge - 4.8 million of the original terminals are still in use, and 32% of the population has access to the network - but there is increasing talk that its days are numbered.
Web to the rescue
This may be premature.
For a start, the rapid decline of Minitel via terminal is more than counterbalanced by growth in access via the web.
Minitel is becoming web-wise
More than four million people have downloaded an "emulator" version, i-Minitel, which runs on personal computers, and 120,000 have registered to receive Minitel via Wanadoo, France Telecom's internet service provider (ISP).
Web-based access is trickier for Minitel to quantify than minutes clocked up via terminal, but Mr Grezes reckons that Minitel alone now accounts for half the revenues of the average French ISP.
Et hop, Minitel!
Nor is this simply shoring u
Slashdot Mirror
You have been brain-washed, you have lost, have a good day.
There isn't a terrorist that is going to give himself the trouble of digging his way into permafrost and into 70 feet of ground just to get some non-weapons-grade uranium about 30 inches in diameter and 6 feet tall which is at 932-degree when he (she) has the opportunity of buying it directly from the USA government, or any government for that matter. (If you think I'm trolling go read a history book explaining the correlation between the governement and the "terrorist groups".)
Thank you come again
T-roll-IIMMMMBER
According to CNN it took six minutes and 22 seconds.
"jumping from an aircraft above the English port of Dover and landing near Calais six minutes and 22 seconds later with crowds" no sig
But I'm never done reading slashdot... that's the whole point of it !
No the best conspiracy theory would be Microsoft buying a company that might have a small possibility of IP claims (however outrageous) against Linux in general. And then using a huge amount of money into pursuing it... and try to kill linux once again... then integrate (badly) all the good ideas of the bought company into it's own product...
France's Minitel: 20 years young By James Arnold BBC News Online business reporter State of the art, in 1983 and today The history of the internet is measured in dog years - if you've been using it for 12 months, you're an old hand; since the 1990s, and you're a veteran. But as far back as 1983, a band of pioneers started using electronic networks to communicate, share information and work more efficiently. No, not Silicon Valley geeks, nor US military scientists - but ordinary French people, long derided as the worst of technophobic old Europe. Minitel, France's precursor to the internet, is 20 years old, and rumours of its demise have repeatedly proved exaggerated. Indeed, Minitel may be about to come of age. Lean and mean Calling Minitel a proto-internet may be a bit of a stretch, but it is not far off. Unlike the internet, Minitel is a closed network, based on the phone system of its owner, France Telecom. Using one of its prehistoric-seeming terminals, users can access a labyrinth of proprietary content, all of it determinedly low-graphics and designed for speed. It may be unlovely, but, says Christian Grezes, Minitel's marketing director, it's every bit as functional as the worldwide web. "It's perfect for quick answers to little questions - phone numbers, train times, that kind of thing," he says. "You get the first three minutes free, so most people just dip in and out." For those who want to linger, there are at least 13,000 services now available, including instant messaging, news, horoscopes, games, shopping and classified ads. Paper profits This bustling network sprang out of a surprisingly mundane ambition - to save France Telecom money on printing phone books. Mr Grezes reckons Minitel can shape the internet's future Urged on by a government - then in control of the company - keen to give the country a technological jolt, France Telecom offered customers free electronic terminals to provide directory assistance. In the spirit of experimentation, France Telecom set up a payment system, allowing clients to invoice Minitel transactions to their phone bill, and invited service providers to start providing content. "The results was not what we expected at all," says Mr Grezes. "We had assumed people might use Minitel just for administrative business - paying bills and so on. In fact, people developed all sorts of surprising ways of getting the most out of the system." Minitel devised a little battleship game, for example - but discovered that clients were using the text line at the bottom of the page to chat. From that discovery sprang Minitel's messageries conviviales service, which now accounts for almost one-fifth of its traffic. Terminal decline? That traffic, by the way, is massive. At its peak, around 1997, there were more than six million terminals in use, and payments worth about $750m passed through the system - roughly equivalent in size to the entire US e-commerce market at the time. The growing lure of the internet, and the clunkiness of the Minitel terminals, has since started a sharp decline in volume. Only $500m-worth of business was done over Minitel last year, and users spent 47 million hours online, a slump of 19% year-on-year. Old-style Minitel is huge - 4.8 million of the original terminals are still in use, and 32% of the population has access to the network - but there is increasing talk that its days are numbered. Web to the rescue This may be premature. For a start, the rapid decline of Minitel via terminal is more than counterbalanced by growth in access via the web. Minitel is becoming web-wise More than four million people have downloaded an "emulator" version, i-Minitel, which runs on personal computers, and 120,000 have registered to receive Minitel via Wanadoo, France Telecom's internet service provider (ISP). Web-based access is trickier for Minitel to quantify than minutes clocked up via terminal, but Mr Grezes reckons that Minitel alone now accounts for half the revenues of the average French ISP. Et hop, Minitel! Nor is this simply shoring u
First Post(c)
And when it belongs to everyone, everyone thinks that somebody else will take care of it.