And writing good code will make your life easier than writing sloppy code since the sloppy code will haunt you forever.
Just being able to avoid those 02:00 in the morning calls the day before an important event accounts for a lot. A clear conscience makes you sleep well and have time over for your favorite actions. If that resolves to painting, making love or hunting that's a different issue.
RT3 isn't that bad, that's one of the major routes to/from NH (just select direction after preference!:-) )
The worst thing I can think of when it comes to NH is the lousy GSM coverage when you get outside the main routes. New Boston lacks coverage, even though that's a really nice place otherwise. (At least it did last summer...)
And yes - I'm one of those lousy tourists pestering NH sometimes... Visiting from Sweden.
As for vanity plates - that's the headache of the owner if he's willing to pay for it. And from what I have found out the people in NH has a certain attitude that makes them willing to make a statement - like using vanity plates. Maybe the "Free" in the slogan is taken much as freedom of speech.
There is a lot of hot air in claims from the BSA about losing so and so much money.
The reality would be that much of the software that's in use illegally is by people that wouldn't have purchased it in the first case. So if it was completely impossible to pirate the software then it wouldn't be purchased at all.
What BSA members wants is a certain level of "leak" to make people get the taste for the software.
Of course it's marketing. Get it posted on Slashdot and you will get a lot of people to talk about it.
And in the name of "user friendliness" - they have changed the UI again. And since there are few competing products they can do just whatever they like these days and people have to accept it. It doesn't have to be good anymore, it will sell anyway.
Right now there is a lot of time lost to figure out how the **** you do things that you did in earlier versions like 2003...
If we really need a 64-bit version of office - that's a good question. Most applications like Word and Excel aren't really going to benefit from it. But on the other hand - there won't be a disadvantage either.
An occassional lack of sleep isn't the problem, it's the permanent lack of sleep that's the problem.
And yes - you can die from it. Either by having an accident or because the brain actually isn't able to recover itself as it should.
There is a rare disease that shuts off the ability for the brain to go into sleep and that will make a wreck of the victim and after a few months there will be death. Fatal Familial Insomnia is the sickness.
And in some areas/countries like Sweden it's even illegal to back-track information to the source if the information has reached a public media reporter.
But if they publish it is another question.
Maybe it shall be published in a Swedish Newspaper?:)
Have it posted as an AC on Slashdot and post using internet through a large company network or through a cellphone internet connection.
You can of course post it on other sites too where anonymous posting is allowed.
And it you can make a newspaper take in that it may be even better. At least in some locations (like Sweden) it is actually forbidden to track down anyone who has been delivering information to the press.
Mosquitoes are only one type of insect that they may feed on, but the amount of nourishment in a mosquito is lower than in a fly, which means that they are more likely to select flies for food.
But the point is more to adjust the mosquitoes than to eradicate them.
As for diseases keeping humanity under control you should note that the western world have survived the fact that most mosquito-borne diseases have been eradicated.
Because if it won't help against infection it's little consolation that you won't spread the fever.
Of course - it's better than nothing, but even better would be to figure a way to take out diseases like Dengue Fever completely.
Many diseases are spread by mosquitoes and if you can take out them from the equation it may help against several diseases. Pheromones are one important factor when the mosquitoes are mating and if you can attract the males to a trap you can either kill them or replace them with genetically modified ones that are less able to spread diseases. The modification may range from sterile offspring to offspring that aren't able to work as a carrier or even offspring that are shunning humans as blood source.
If you read Asimov's book you will find out that the zero-law was added later.
And even though they were plot devices they still are useful as thought experiments to consider for artificial intelligences with ethics. The important thing isn't really the laws themselves but the ideas they represent and the possible pitfalls that can be encountered.
Since it's the relative speed that's important. The speed figures are only of use for those that tracks the shuttle and the telescope.
Sometimes it's just baffling to see people goo "ooh" when someone states that they makes an extreme speed and then the people thinks that going that fast must be very dangerous.
In a way it is, but only if something crosses your path. But that's the same when you are on the ground too.
Artificial Ethics seems to not be too far away from the laws of robotics.
0. A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Isaac Asimov was probably predicting the need for those laws really well.
I suspect that the laws of robotics are a bit too simplified to really work well in reality, but they do provide some food for thoughts.
And how do you really implement those laws. A law may be easy to follow in a strict sense, but it may be a short-sighted approach. A case of protecting one human may cause harm to many and how can a machine predict that the actions it takes will cause harm to many if it isn't apparent.
So I suspect that Asimov is going to be recommended reading for anyone working with intelligent robots, even though his works may in some senses be outdated it still contains valid points when it comes to logical pitfalls.
Some pitfalls are the definition of a human, and is it always important to place humanity foremost at the cost of other species?
Slashdot Mirror
So if it's a format issue, then it's essentially a software patent and nothing else.
Maybe Toshiba are pressed by bad times and needs a cash cow?
Makes me think of police action...
Don't cut the broadband for any crime until it's proven in court.
It's not the role of the ISP to act as a police for a third party.
And all other remote controls that already exists and has existed since "deity-knows-when".
Even the director's wand at an orchestra is a form of remote. But not very advanced in itself.
Whatever makes you happy is the important part.
And writing good code will make your life easier than writing sloppy code since the sloppy code will haunt you forever.
Just being able to avoid those 02:00 in the morning calls the day before an important event accounts for a lot. A clear conscience makes you sleep well and have time over for your favorite actions. If that resolves to painting, making love or hunting that's a different issue.
Some people put too much emphasis on the dying part.
You can live on and fight another day or die without accomplishing anything.
RT3 isn't that bad, that's one of the major routes to/from NH (just select direction after preference! :-) )
The worst thing I can think of when it comes to NH is the lousy GSM coverage when you get outside the main routes. New Boston lacks coverage, even though that's a really nice place otherwise. (At least it did last summer...)
And yes - I'm one of those lousy tourists pestering NH sometimes... Visiting from Sweden.
As for vanity plates - that's the headache of the owner if he's willing to pay for it. And from what I have found out the people in NH has a certain attitude that makes them willing to make a statement - like using vanity plates. Maybe the "Free" in the slogan is taken much as freedom of speech.
Considering that it for tax reasons isn't feasible to do farming in NH there has to be some kind of income.
One thing that's attractive with NH is that the sales tax is extremely low. That has a tendency to attract visitors.
And there is a breed of pig that's called Hampshire, probably because it originated there!
But anyway - I agree that having the real deal license plate scores a lot higher on the list than the conference handout plates.
There is a lot of hot air in claims from the BSA about losing so and so much money.
The reality would be that much of the software that's in use illegally is by people that wouldn't have purchased it in the first case. So if it was completely impossible to pirate the software then it wouldn't be purchased at all.
What BSA members wants is a certain level of "leak" to make people get the taste for the software.
Of course it's marketing. Get it posted on Slashdot and you will get a lot of people to talk about it.
And in the name of "user friendliness" - they have changed the UI again. And since there are few competing products they can do just whatever they like these days and people have to accept it. It doesn't have to be good anymore, it will sell anyway.
Right now there is a lot of time lost to figure out how the **** you do things that you did in earlier versions like 2003...
If we really need a 64-bit version of office - that's a good question. Most applications like Word and Excel aren't really going to benefit from it. But on the other hand - there won't be a disadvantage either.
Simple life forms having only one cell type in opposite to complex life forms constructed by multiple specialized cell types.
The simple cell forms only have to adapt one cell type to survive while the complex needs to adapt multiple cell types.
Don't forget the bacteria that also thrives in radioactive environments!
If anything will survive a hard radiation situation it's bacteria, plants and other kinds of simple life.
4. Force customer to watch your crap.
We aren't that far away from the dystopian world pictured in Max Headroom.
An occassional lack of sleep isn't the problem, it's the permanent lack of sleep that's the problem.
And yes - you can die from it. Either by having an accident or because the brain actually isn't able to recover itself as it should.
There is a rare disease that shuts off the ability for the brain to go into sleep and that will make a wreck of the victim and after a few months there will be death. Fatal Familial Insomnia is the sickness.
And in some areas/countries like Sweden it's even illegal to back-track information to the source if the information has reached a public media reporter.
But if they publish it is another question.
Maybe it shall be published in a Swedish Newspaper? :)
Have it posted as an AC on Slashdot and post using internet through a large company network or through a cellphone internet connection.
You can of course post it on other sites too where anonymous posting is allowed.
And it you can make a newspaper take in that it may be even better. At least in some locations (like Sweden) it is actually forbidden to track down anyone who has been delivering information to the press.
Don't play the busy tone (that's just too simple), play something like:
"The number is no longer in use"
"Hello! ... Hello? ... Hello? ... ... Hello? ... {click}".
"You have called the department of wet jobs, please state your name, number and location so we can 'visit' you."
"Enter your freecall code or this call costs $563 per minute plus expenses. The cost will be sent in a separate invoice."
I suppose that you can come up with a lot of more or less evil variants on your answering machine.
Using daydreaming and alternate tasks sometimes frees the mind from a locked circle and can give you a new perspective of a problem.
Sparrows are mainly seed-eating, but Swallows are insect-eaters.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/558300/sparrow
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/576163/swallow
Mosquitoes are only one type of insect that they may feed on, but the amount of nourishment in a mosquito is lower than in a fly, which means that they are more likely to select flies for food.
But the point is more to adjust the mosquitoes than to eradicate them.
As for diseases keeping humanity under control you should note that the western world have survived the fact that most mosquito-borne diseases have been eradicated.
Because if it won't help against infection it's little consolation that you won't spread the fever.
Of course - it's better than nothing, but even better would be to figure a way to take out diseases like Dengue Fever completely.
Many diseases are spread by mosquitoes and if you can take out them from the equation it may help against several diseases. Pheromones are one important factor when the mosquitoes are mating and if you can attract the males to a trap you can either kill them or replace them with genetically modified ones that are less able to spread diseases. The modification may range from sterile offspring to offspring that aren't able to work as a carrier or even offspring that are shunning humans as blood source.
Unfortunately you will have to address forwarders too for access to the world and then you are toast again.
Unless you have your own directory or can find an open DNS that isn't messed with.
If you read Asimov's book you will find out that the zero-law was added later.
And even though they were plot devices they still are useful as thought experiments to consider for artificial intelligences with ethics. The important thing isn't really the laws themselves but the ideas they represent and the possible pitfalls that can be encountered.
Since it's the relative speed that's important. The speed figures are only of use for those that tracks the shuttle and the telescope.
Sometimes it's just baffling to see people goo "ooh" when someone states that they makes an extreme speed and then the people thinks that going that fast must be very dangerous.
In a way it is, but only if something crosses your path. But that's the same when you are on the ground too.
Artificial Ethics seems to not be too far away from the laws of robotics.
0. A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Isaac Asimov was probably predicting the need for those laws really well.
I suspect that the laws of robotics are a bit too simplified to really work well in reality, but they do provide some food for thoughts.
And how do you really implement those laws. A law may be easy to follow in a strict sense, but it may be a short-sighted approach. A case of protecting one human may cause harm to many and how can a machine predict that the actions it takes will cause harm to many if it isn't apparent.
So I suspect that Asimov is going to be recommended reading for anyone working with intelligent robots, even though his works may in some senses be outdated it still contains valid points when it comes to logical pitfalls.
Some pitfalls are the definition of a human, and is it always important to place humanity foremost at the cost of other species?