The Onion has essentially been doing the same joke for years now. They're certainly one of the funnier sites on the Web these days, but I for one found both Modern Humorist and Red vs. Blue more funny and innovative. I can see it winning People's Voice, but I'm surprised that the Webby awarders didn't spice things up a little.
Please note that they have not actually reached space yet. Until they do, this is just PR and speculation. And I wouldn't be too sure that this is the first amateur vehicle to reach space, either. JP Aerospace has sent up balloons to 100,000 feet, which is the height that this group is trying to reach. Just because it's not a rocket doesn't mean it's not a space vehicle.
You also may want to check out some of the other really cool stuff they've been doing. They're currently working on a climp that would reach LEO over the course of a few days using ion propulsion. Details are a little sketchy on the aerodynamics and propulsion method, but it would be an extremely cheap and elegant solution to space access if they succeeded.
I realize it's not an entirely new programming language, but Damian Conway wrote a Perl module that allows one to program Perl in Latin. Since Latin relies on inflection of words instead of word order to convey meaning, it eliminates a lot of the normal syntactical issues involving positioning. Although you're unlikely to find very many native speakers of Latin, it certainly won't hurt Perl's readability.
Back in December 2001, it seemed like a similar operation might have significantly hindered warez and piracy. It seems to be essentially the same operation, although with international cooperation this time. The impact of that operation is essentially null today. It could seem that this type of crackdown is inherently ineffective in making a long-term difference. However, I believe that if the FBI et al. keep doing so often enough the size of the warez scene will be severely diminished.
If you haven't seen Travel, then you definitely should now. It's a really cool movie that perfectly captures the essence of Tribes 2. It's 190 MB, but definitely worth the download. I'd seed a torrent, but I'm behind a rather restrictive firewall.
Wouldn't this adversely affect the ability of server admins to ban players who are being assclowns? If someone is being an assclown and they can just bypass the serial number check entirely then won't that essentially mean that the only thing people can be banned by is I.P.? This is a great development, but I'm not sure how fair it would be to current players.
Do you want to be the one to tell a toddler that they have to try to talk to animals instead of being with his/her father, mother, or family?
It may seem like a good idea and might even be effective, but it strikes me that there is something very wrong with attempting to use children as protocol droids. This wouldn't be very safe for toddlers on either a physical or psychological level. Apes aren't Disney characters.
Is this really the case any longer with Firefox? After a few months with Firebird and now Firefox, I've only found one site that doesn't render properly. I see this given as a reason for Firefox's slower adoption fairly frequently, but I haven't really encountered it at all as a user. Am I just fortunate in my browsing, or is this lack of mis-renderings the rule rather than the exception?
While not linked to on the actual Infinium Labs website, I was able to find the stock price($7.50) and SEC Filings on Yahoo! Finance. It makes for mildly amusing reading, especially the charts that show a 15,000% gain over the last year.
Exactly! It's horribly underhanded of Infinium to deprive Tycho and Gabe of their well-earned libel lawsuit. It's high time that they stopped beating up little kids for pocket change and moved on to a better target.
P.S. - I heard that Timothy Roberts can't send cease-and-desist letters without consulting the HAPPY FUN BALL.
I've been using Adblock, a Firefox Extension, for some time now. It lets you set custom filters for a variety of page elements. The ability to automatically block all Flash(or images) from a given server means that I never have to see the same annoying ad animation twice. Give it a try... it's very nice to have all of the benefits of Flash with none of the problems.
Your conspiracy theory, like almost all conspiracy theories, contains elements of both truth and falsehood. No, we almost certainly won't polar bears cavorting over the poles of Venus. However, Venus is undubitably friendly to Earth life. The question is to which types of Earth life it is friendly. We know that thermophiles and other such extremophiles can survive in similarly challenging environments on Earth. However, it would likely require some fairly major bio-engineering in order to prepare such Earth organisms to live on Venus.
Beyond even just the well publicized extremes of temperature and pressure, any life-form on Venus would have to contend with heavy metal snow and clouds made of sulfuric acid. While I'm sure that we have separate varieties of extremophiles on Earth that can cope with each of these challenges separately, creating a synthesis of these traits would require significantly greater experience with practical genetic engineering as well as significant funding. We just don't have the funds right now to return Venus' friendship, which I'm sure is a situation that/.ers have experienced before.
Author is a Slashdot Reader?
on
Singularity Sky
·
· Score: 1, Informative
In one of the Amazon reviews it was mentioned that the author apparently is a Slashdot reader. If so, it would be quite interesting to hear about his experiences in writing and publishing a science fiction novel today. Do any other/.ers have questions that he would be able to shed light on?
Parent is an Amazon Repost
on
Singularity Sky
·
· Score: 2, Informative
The parent link just reposted the spotlight review from Amazon, which is available here.
Strangely enough, this was an idea featured in one of the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron novels. The bodies of Alderaanian exiles were cremated and compacted into diamonds. It's completely amazing to see something that seemingly was hundreds or thousands of years in the future made possible today.
I am in much the same situation currently. I bought Tribes 2 some time ago and have begun playing regularly now that I have access to a a good connection. The graphics are admittedly somewhat dated, but the gameplay is rock solid. There are no major gameplay-ruining cheats, mostly due to a solid architecture and a very customizable interface. It emphasises strategy, tactics, and teamwork over pure fragging skills, but can be played as a pure FPS if you have the desire. The ability to move in the z-dimension with a jetpack literally adds a whole new dimension to combat. I've been able to make meaningful contributions even as a neophyte player, since the game also has some challenging support roles. There's a decent mix of servers running various rulesets and mission types, so you'll probably be able to find something that suits you. Although there are a fair number of clans, they don't tend to dominate any particular server. All in all it's a fun and balanced way to get a foot into door of online FP Shooters.
An article at SMH describes a large fiber optic network called the National LambdaRail, which has completed 1,084 out of a planned 16,000 kilometers between major universities and research institutions.
What's with this kilometers nonsense? Do the editors think we're surrender monkeys?
Please mod parent down for being offtopic... penisbirds aren't mentioned in the article.
Sandia Labs on course for more efficient lightbulb
on
The End of the Oil Age
·
· Score: 0
Science News Online has an article on a some grounbreaking research done at Sandia National Labs that has a very real possibility of leading to much more efficient solar cells and lightbulbs. The researchers have created a crystalline microstructure in tungsten that has much higher emissions at certain frequencies in the infrared when heated than Planck's Law can account for. A number of explanations have been proposed for this, but insufficient data exists as to which is correct. The phenomenon has been confirmed numerous times in over 100 different "photonic crystals", although no independent confirmation is mentioned. The researchers are currently attempting to locate another material with the necessary characteristics to duplicate the effect with visible light. If they are successful, we may soon see much more efficient lightbulbs and solar cells in our homes, obviating the need for hydrocarbon fuels.
The abstract is available here, while the article can be read here.
Correction: AP erred
in reporting FAA approval; agency still considering teams' applications
The X Prize trophy - and $10 million - will go to the first team to send a privately developed, piloted craft to the edge of space, then do it again in two weeks' time.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- Correction: In a Sept. 26 story about the X Prize to promote space flight, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the Federal Aviation Administration had approved a Mojave Desert airport as a launch site for suborbital manned space missions and that the agency had approved applications from two teams of rocket engineers. FAA officials said that although applications have been filed and are being considered, formal approvals have yet to be issued for either the airport or the rocket teams.
What follows is a corrected version of the story that first ran on Sept. 26:
In a race to achieve the first privately funded manned spaceflight, rocket engineers are poised to compete for the $10 million X Prize by launching people to the edge of space and bringing them back safely twice within a two-week period. Peter H. Diamandis, chairman and CEO of the X Prize Foundation, said he expects that a teams will launch within the next few months, using rockets and spacecraft that are already being tested and prepared for the daring venture.
A Mojave Desert airport in California is being considered for use as a launch pad for the suborbital missions.
"We expect to have a winner within the next nine to 12 months," Diamandis said in a presentation Friday to officials of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Among teams being considered are Scaled Composites, led by aviation maverick Burt Rutan; and Armadillo Aerospace, a Dallas group headed by John Carmack, a computer game designer who made a fortune on "Doom" and "Quake."
There are 23 other registered groups from seven countries competing for the $10 million cash prize. There are teams from Russia, United Kingdom, Romania, Israel, Argentina and two from Canada. The rest are headquartered in the United States.
'MIND-SHIFT BREAKTHROUGH'
Diamandis said the goal of X Prize is to promote commercial human spaceflight, just as prizes offered early in the 20th century jump-started the aviation industry. For instance, Charles Lindbergh made the first solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927 while competing for a $25,000 aviation prize, he said.
Lindbergh's flight, said Diamandis, "was a mind-shift breakthrough" for the public. Within 18 months after that daring flight, the number of people boarding airlines rose from 5,700 a year to almost 200,000.
Demonstrating that private companies can build and fly spacecraft can be a major step toward making human spaceflight as routine flying on an airliner is now, he said.
"The floodgates will open when a group of private people can plan on going some place in space," Diamandis said. He said earlier prizes opened "the golden age of aviation," and with private firms racing to reach space "it's happening again, right now."
Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne and its White Knight carrier craft are being flight-tested in California. Click to learn more about Scaled Composites.
TO THE CUSP OF SPACE
The X Prize contest calls for launching a manned craft to 62 miles (100 kilometers), generally considered the cusp of space, and returning it safely to Earth. And then doing it again within 14 days. The craft must be able to carry three people, although the contest rules permit contestants to use one pilot accompanied by equipment equal to the weight of two people.
Diamandis said the craft will not go into orbit and will not fly far from its launch site. But it will graze space, giving an orbitlike view of Earth and perhaps brief moments of weightlessness. The whole adventure would probably last about 15 m
The text for the Home, Overview, Background, and Phase I-IV pages is here.
Home Page(There are a number of pages on the site)
Dial-up has never looked so good! - classmate
At Algoma University the mature students in the fast track accelerated second degree program are not quick to accept theory without proof. As a result, Professor George Townsend offered extra credit to anyone in his forth year Computer Networks course who could take up the challenge of implementing internet based protocols over a new form of medium - Bongo Drums.
Eight weeks later, the first public demonstration was given to the class by using a simple ping packet. With a blinding 2bps speed, the class sat patiently as the packet was received in roughly 140 seconds.
Whats the point you may ask? We aren't trying to set any speed records here (actually, we have been developing some ideas for "highspeed" bongos), but rather we're showing that the lower layers of the OSI model can be replaced with any form of media without affecting the layers above it.
Look at those bongos fly! - classmate
Due to a busy semester and a Microcoded M6800 Emulator project, work on the final phase of the project has slowed. The design plans for the actual bongo hook up have been completed, and now only a few more hours are required for total completion. The demonstrations that have been conducted have used synthesized bongo beats played through desktop speakers. Due to summer work, time has ran out and the final implementation will have to wait until september.
*Yes I know that isn't a bongo drum at the to
Overview Page
The following non-technical story has appeared in school magazines and many other news sources from around the world.
Modern and Centuries Old Technologies Meet at AUC
Daniel Reid, senior computer science student at Algoma University finished explaining his project to a room full of his peers. The room fell silent as everyone waited in eager anticipation of the demonstration that was about to begin. Danny sat down in front of an ordinary windows computer and typed a simple command, ping www.sony.co.jp This command sends a test message to the specified computer, namely a webserver on the other side of the planet in Japan.
Ah yes the humble ping test, used to test for connectivity between your computer and another. But this was no ordinary test. It would couple together one of the most primitive centuries old technologies known to man together with the one of the fastest fiber-optic backbones in the Internet.
It all began several months earlier when Professor George Townsend was lecturing to a group of computer science students taking his fourth year Computer Networks course. The topic of the day was the OSI networking model, which describes a layered method of combining different types of technologies together to form functional networking systems. During the lecture, Professor Townsend made the claim that the design of the model permits different types of technologies to be transparently connected together. He suddenly stopped in mid lecture, and stared off into space stroking his beard thoughtfully. After a short moment of silent thought, he suggested to the class, that in theory, this should permit us to use any technology we like to connect a computer to the Internet without compromising its ability to participate in the Internet. Furthermore, he exclaimed, his voice rising in excitement, we could use a set of bongo drums to communicate as our technology of choice!
This was a dangerous claim to make at Algoma University where a unique blend of students exist as a result of the very successful Second Degree Accelerated programs it offers in Computer Science and Information Technology. These fast-track programs allow completion of an accredited university degree for people that already have a university degree in another discipline in only one calendar year. The program attracts many mature students who often bring a great deal of real world experience with them. So, of course
If capitalism possesses no morality, if it is desirable only as a tool to attain a desirable economic system, then what would be an acceptable alternative to capitalism? Is it a matter beyond morality whether a person attains their desires by productive and willing exchange or instead at the point of a gun? If capitalism has no morality, then is theft or fraud a preferable and moral method of interaction between people? If the main activity of the life of most humans is a matter with no moral significance, then of what significance is morality? Do you truly believe that your life, ability, and intellect are used every day to support an amoral system?
But if you actually believe that capitalism is a matter of morality, then why do so many codes of philosophy and religion believe that the primary activity of able human beings is either an immoral necessity or an amoral pastime?
Slashdot Mirror
The Onion has essentially been doing the same joke for years now. They're certainly one of the funnier sites on the Web these days, but I for one found both Modern Humorist and Red vs. Blue more funny and innovative. I can see it winning People's Voice, but I'm surprised that the Webby awarders didn't spice things up a little.
Please note that they have not actually reached space yet. Until they do, this is just PR and speculation. And I wouldn't be too sure that this is the first amateur vehicle to reach space, either. JP Aerospace has sent up balloons to 100,000 feet, which is the height that this group is trying to reach. Just because it's not a rocket doesn't mean it's not a space vehicle.
You also may want to check out some of the other really cool stuff they've been doing. They're currently working on a climp that would reach LEO over the course of a few days using ion propulsion. Details are a little sketchy on the aerodynamics and propulsion method, but it would be an extremely cheap and elegant solution to space access if they succeeded.
I realize it's not an entirely new programming language, but Damian Conway wrote a Perl module that allows one to program Perl in Latin. Since Latin relies on inflection of words instead of word order to convey meaning, it eliminates a lot of the normal syntactical issues involving positioning. Although you're unlikely to find very many native speakers of Latin, it certainly won't hurt Perl's readability.
Back in December 2001, it seemed like a similar operation might have significantly hindered warez and piracy. It seems to be essentially the same operation, although with international cooperation this time. The impact of that operation is essentially null today. It could seem that this type of crackdown is inherently ineffective in making a long-term difference. However, I believe that if the FBI et al. keep doing so often enough the size of the warez scene will be severely diminished.
If you haven't seen Travel, then you definitely should now. It's a really cool movie that perfectly captures the essence of Tribes 2. It's 190 MB, but definitely worth the download. I'd seed a torrent, but I'm behind a rather restrictive firewall.
Wouldn't this adversely affect the ability of server admins to ban players who are being assclowns? If someone is being an assclown and they can just bypass the serial number check entirely then won't that essentially mean that the only thing people can be banned by is I.P.? This is a great development, but I'm not sure how fair it would be to current players.
Do you want to be the one to tell a toddler that they have to try to talk to animals instead of being with his/her father, mother, or family? It may seem like a good idea and might even be effective, but it strikes me that there is something very wrong with attempting to use children as protocol droids. This wouldn't be very safe for toddlers on either a physical or psychological level. Apes aren't Disney characters.
Is this really the case any longer with Firefox? After a few months with Firebird and now Firefox, I've only found one site that doesn't render properly. I see this given as a reason for Firefox's slower adoption fairly frequently, but I haven't really encountered it at all as a user. Am I just fortunate in my browsing, or is this lack of mis-renderings the rule rather than the exception?
While not linked to on the actual Infinium Labs website, I was able to find the stock price($7.50) and SEC Filings on Yahoo! Finance. It makes for mildly amusing reading, especially the charts that show a 15,000% gain over the last year.
Exactly! It's horribly underhanded of Infinium to deprive Tycho and Gabe of their well-earned libel lawsuit. It's high time that they stopped beating up little kids for pocket change and moved on to a better target.
P.S. - I heard that Timothy Roberts can't send cease-and-desist letters without consulting the HAPPY FUN BALL.
I've been using Adblock, a Firefox Extension, for some time now. It lets you set custom filters for a variety of page elements. The ability to automatically block all Flash(or images) from a given server means that I never have to see the same annoying ad animation twice. Give it a try... it's very nice to have all of the benefits of Flash with none of the problems.
Your conspiracy theory, like almost all conspiracy theories, contains elements of both truth and falsehood. No, we almost certainly won't polar bears cavorting over the poles of Venus. However, Venus is undubitably friendly to Earth life. The question is to which types of Earth life it is friendly. We know that thermophiles and other such extremophiles can survive in similarly challenging environments on Earth. However, it would likely require some fairly major bio-engineering in order to prepare such Earth organisms to live on Venus.
/.ers have experienced before.
Beyond even just the well publicized extremes of temperature and pressure, any life-form on Venus would have to contend with heavy metal snow and clouds made of sulfuric acid. While I'm sure that we have separate varieties of extremophiles on Earth that can cope with each of these challenges separately, creating a synthesis of these traits would require significantly greater experience with practical genetic engineering as well as significant funding. We just don't have the funds right now to return Venus' friendship, which I'm sure is a situation that
In one of the Amazon reviews it was mentioned that the author apparently is a Slashdot reader. If so, it would be quite interesting to hear about his experiences in writing and publishing a science fiction novel today. Do any other /.ers have questions that he would be able to shed light on?
The parent link just reposted the spotlight review from Amazon, which is available here.
This is exactly the reason why you should vote for Cthulhu on November 2. Why settle for a lesser evil?
Strangely enough, this was an idea featured in one of the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron novels. The bodies of Alderaanian exiles were cremated and compacted into diamonds. It's completely amazing to see something that seemingly was hundreds or thousands of years in the future made possible today.
I am in much the same situation currently. I bought Tribes 2 some time ago and have begun playing regularly now that I have access to a a good connection. The graphics are admittedly somewhat dated, but the gameplay is rock solid. There are no major gameplay-ruining cheats, mostly due to a solid architecture and a very customizable interface. It emphasises strategy, tactics, and teamwork over pure fragging skills, but can be played as a pure FPS if you have the desire. The ability to move in the z-dimension with a jetpack literally adds a whole new dimension to combat. I've been able to make meaningful contributions even as a neophyte player, since the game also has some challenging support roles. There's a decent mix of servers running various rulesets and mission types, so you'll probably be able to find something that suits you. Although there are a fair number of clans, they don't tend to dominate any particular server. All in all it's a fun and balanced way to get a foot into door of online FP Shooters.
Please mod parent down for being offtopic... penisbirds aren't mentioned in the article.
Science News Online has an article on a some grounbreaking research done at Sandia National Labs that has a very real possibility of leading to much more efficient solar cells and lightbulbs. The researchers have created a crystalline microstructure in tungsten that has much higher emissions at certain frequencies in the infrared when heated than Planck's Law can account for. A number of explanations have been proposed for this, but insufficient data exists as to which is correct. The phenomenon has been confirmed numerous times in over 100 different "photonic crystals", although no independent confirmation is mentioned. The researchers are currently attempting to locate another material with the necessary characteristics to duplicate the effect with visible light. If they are successful, we may soon see much more efficient lightbulbs and solar cells in our homes, obviating the need for hydrocarbon fuels.
The abstract is available here, while the article can be read here.
Yahoo Messenger has had this implemented since before December of 2002.
Private space race nears its climax
Correction: AP erred in reporting FAA approval; agency still considering teams' applications The X Prize trophy - and $10 million - will go to the first team to send a privately developed, piloted craft to the edge of space, then do it again in two weeks' time.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- Correction: In a Sept. 26 story about the X Prize to promote space flight, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the Federal Aviation Administration had approved a Mojave Desert airport as a launch site for suborbital manned space missions and that the agency had approved applications from two teams of rocket engineers. FAA officials said that although applications have been filed and are being considered, formal approvals have yet to be issued for either the airport or the rocket teams.
What follows is a corrected version of the story that first ran on Sept. 26:
In a race to achieve the first privately funded manned spaceflight, rocket engineers are poised to compete for the $10 million X Prize by launching people to the edge of space and bringing them back safely twice within a two-week period. Peter H. Diamandis, chairman and CEO of the X Prize Foundation, said he expects that a teams will launch within the next few months, using rockets and spacecraft that are already being tested and prepared for the daring venture.
A Mojave Desert airport in California is being considered for use as a launch pad for the suborbital missions.
"We expect to have a winner within the next nine to 12 months," Diamandis said in a presentation Friday to officials of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Among teams being considered are Scaled Composites, led by aviation maverick Burt Rutan; and Armadillo Aerospace, a Dallas group headed by John Carmack, a computer game designer who made a fortune on "Doom" and "Quake."
There are 23 other registered groups from seven countries competing for the $10 million cash prize. There are teams from Russia, United Kingdom, Romania, Israel, Argentina and two from Canada. The rest are headquartered in the United States.
'MIND-SHIFT BREAKTHROUGH'
Diamandis said the goal of X Prize is to promote commercial human spaceflight, just as prizes offered early in the 20th century jump-started the aviation industry. For instance, Charles Lindbergh made the first solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927 while competing for a $25,000 aviation prize, he said.
Lindbergh's flight, said Diamandis, "was a mind-shift breakthrough" for the public. Within 18 months after that daring flight, the number of people boarding airlines rose from 5,700 a year to almost 200,000.
Demonstrating that private companies can build and fly spacecraft can be a major step toward making human spaceflight as routine flying on an airliner is now, he said.
"The floodgates will open when a group of private people can plan on going some place in space," Diamandis said. He said earlier prizes opened "the golden age of aviation," and with private firms racing to reach space "it's happening again, right now."
Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne and its White Knight carrier craft are being flight-tested in California. Click to learn more about Scaled Composites.
TO THE CUSP OF SPACE
The X Prize contest calls for launching a manned craft to 62 miles (100 kilometers), generally considered the cusp of space, and returning it safely to Earth. And then doing it again within 14 days. The craft must be able to carry three people, although the contest rules permit contestants to use one pilot accompanied by equipment equal to the weight of two people.
Diamandis said the craft will not go into orbit and will not fly far from its launch site. But it will graze space, giving an orbitlike view of Earth and perhaps brief moments of weightlessness. The whole adventure would probably last about 15 m
The text for the Home, Overview, Background, and Phase I-IV pages is here. Home Page(There are a number of pages on the site)
Dial-up has never looked so good! - classmate
At Algoma University the mature students in the fast track accelerated second degree program are not quick to accept theory without proof. As a result, Professor George Townsend offered extra credit to anyone in his forth year Computer Networks course who could take up the challenge of implementing internet based protocols over a new form of medium - Bongo Drums. Eight weeks later, the first public demonstration was given to the class by using a simple ping packet. With a blinding 2bps speed, the class sat patiently as the packet was received in roughly 140 seconds. Whats the point you may ask? We aren't trying to set any speed records here (actually, we have been developing some ideas for "highspeed" bongos), but rather we're showing that the lower layers of the OSI model can be replaced with any form of media without affecting the layers above it. Look at those bongos fly! - classmate Due to a busy semester and a Microcoded M6800 Emulator project, work on the final phase of the project has slowed. The design plans for the actual bongo hook up have been completed, and now only a few more hours are required for total completion. The demonstrations that have been conducted have used synthesized bongo beats played through desktop speakers. Due to summer work, time has ran out and the final implementation will have to wait until september. *Yes I know that isn't a bongo drum at the to Overview Page The following non-technical story has appeared in school magazines and many other news sources from around the world. Modern and Centuries Old Technologies Meet at AUC Daniel Reid, senior computer science student at Algoma University finished explaining his project to a room full of his peers. The room fell silent as everyone waited in eager anticipation of the demonstration that was about to begin. Danny sat down in front of an ordinary windows computer and typed a simple command, ping www.sony.co.jp This command sends a test message to the specified computer, namely a webserver on the other side of the planet in Japan.
Ah yes the humble ping test, used to test for connectivity between your computer and another. But this was no ordinary test. It would couple together one of the most primitive centuries old technologies known to man together with the one of the fastest fiber-optic backbones in the Internet.
It all began several months earlier when Professor George Townsend was lecturing to a group of computer science students taking his fourth year Computer Networks course. The topic of the day was the OSI networking model, which describes a layered method of combining different types of technologies together to form functional networking systems. During the lecture, Professor Townsend made the claim that the design of the model permits different types of technologies to be transparently connected together. He suddenly stopped in mid lecture, and stared off into space stroking his beard thoughtfully. After a short moment of silent thought, he suggested to the class, that in theory, this should permit us to use any technology we like to connect a computer to the Internet without compromising its ability to participate in the Internet. Furthermore, he exclaimed, his voice rising in excitement, we could use a set of bongo drums to communicate as our technology of choice!
This was a dangerous claim to make at Algoma University where a unique blend of students exist as a result of the very successful Second Degree Accelerated programs it offers in Computer Science and Information Technology. These fast-track programs allow completion of an accredited university degree for people that already have a university degree in another discipline in only one calendar year. The program attracts many mature students who often bring a great deal of real world experience with them. So, of course
If capitalism possesses no morality, if it is desirable only as a tool to attain a desirable economic system, then what would be an acceptable alternative to capitalism? Is it a matter beyond morality whether a person attains their desires by productive and willing exchange or instead at the point of a gun? If capitalism has no morality, then is theft or fraud a preferable and moral method of interaction between people? If the main activity of the life of most humans is a matter with no moral significance, then of what significance is morality? Do you truly believe that your life, ability, and intellect are used every day to support an amoral system? But if you actually believe that capitalism is a matter of morality, then why do so many codes of philosophy and religion believe that the primary activity of able human beings is either an immoral necessity or an amoral pastime?