Perhaps that would be a change too far. Since the Hawthorne Effect seems to rely on the impression one is being observed, we'd need to measure the distraction of diffuse actors mating over one's head, vs. the motivation of the actors seeming to stare back.
Your comment reminds me why I preferred seminar to lecture: we came to class to discuss the state of each student's paper, got an opportunity for feedback from instructor and peers, and got an extra dollop of subject expertise from the instructor.
Lecture gave me 'waaaaay too much leeway to how much material I elected to mentally engage with, or not, and too few opportunities to (literally and figuratively) test my comprehension, and address knowledge gaps.
That there is a weeding out process of freshmen is valid. The usual method of doing it (via lecture) is IMO hideously inefficient. Better to use methods like Mazur or @bcrowell to find who truly can't/won't learn the material, while giving the majority of students who are within the spectrum of those who can/will a better shot at becoming facile with it. As it is, we're obviously wasting a vast quality of mental potential and tuition dollars.
I usually use with Linux or OS X. There are times when I need to create a quickie WinNT-ish environment, and I don't care about network access. My wife has gone through several HP laptops that gave up the ghost shortly after the warranty expired. But, even in the afterlife, they can donate their drives, their displays, and even their OEM Windows licenses. It turns out that the reinstall DVDs aren't very particular about the (virtual) hardware they're run on, as long as I've got a good key.
You're absolutely correct. I was making a joke at the expense of the parent commenter, who evidently considers Federal employees to be overpaid, regardless of their skill level, and seems unaware of the widely understood tradeoff: less pay/more security with the feds v. more pay/less security in commercial outfits for experienced professionals in skilled positions.
So, ESR considers equates SOPA with the following as power grabs:
>> "cap and trade, campaign finance “reform”, the incandescent lightbulb ban, Obamacare, you name it"
More to the point, he equates attempts to assist the public interest by: 1) mitigating climate change, 2) limiting the power of big money to buy representation and reelect entrenched incumbents, and 3) provide health insurance as a public service rather than a profit center to putting the Federal Government at the full disposal of entrenched IP rent collectors.
Coming from Eric, or anyone else, this demonstrates my problem with libertarians: glued to a dogma, regardless of the context.
Currently, the Azimov Laws of Robotics come off as rather naive. That's because we're just getting started, and the utility of said Laws aren't generally recognized. They won't be until we've been hoist on our own petard a few times, including the power elite. Only when a large and broad enough sample of people have been killed, without a sustained advantage accruing to any one nation, will Azimov be seen as prophetic.
$45K salary at retirement, 30% = $15K / year guaranteed. That's more than a two person, poverty-level working household, so it is pretty cushy. It may even be more than the new Walmart stocker drop out. So each retiree is like a currently employee on the staff.
>> "There's still room for producers and financiers, they just need to stop thinking that the fact they brought $300k to the table means they can dictate to the end consumer DRM, or double the price."
I agree, but it's going to take some time to edumacate them. Probably not the current generation of players, maybe the up-and-coming. One strength Louis C.K. mentioned in his reddit iama is that when negotiating his contract with Fox, he was willing to walk away if he couldn't structure Louie the way he wanted. He traded off money for control.
Perhaps future entertainment investors will do the same.
>> For me torrenting has always been about convenience. I could record the shows that I want to watch and encode them and move them to my NAS, but that's a bigger PITA then simply torrenting the show to the internal distribution site.
There's obviously not a meeting of minds between you and the people who actually run a war.;) If you surf through the jobs sites for the major defense contractors, they are advertising explicitly for locations in IQ and AF. The State Department and other civilian agencies generally have to twist arms to get people to work in theater, so as far as they're concerned, qualified individuals who want to go just make their job easier.
Naturally (ar, ar), self-reproducing chemistry developed on Earth adapted to its unique environment. The stars, like dust, are scattered far and wide, and thus it's also natural that we're having trouble finding life that developed in other unique environments. Back when I was a kid, and our exo-solar list of planets was limited to "we think there's something circling Barnard's Star", it was no surprise we were getting hung up on the 'Rare Earth Hypothesis'.
Now that we've got a rapidly growing list of planets to point better sensors at, I think it's unduly anthropocentric.
I've read the leaked draft of the bill linked by @Viceice. Lacking background on the bill's authors, I'll hazard a guess that this is the work of incumbent local IT firms looking to lock out new entrants, and thus reduce competition and pressure to reduce billing rates. As such, it would be no different than taxi cab or barber licensing stateside, whose purpose is usually similar... while using the fig leaf of ensuring qualified vendors.
I suspect you're just making a rhetorical point, and logically correct.
On the off chance you weren't, you may wish to review US labor history, with the Pullman Strike and passage of the Taft-Hartley Act as especially significant milestones.
"Closed shops" are illegal in the US. Someone joining a company with a union contract may, however, be required to join a relevant trade union, or at least pay the dues.
The grandparent (troll-rated) post is correct as far as it goes (re: avoid EPA/unions), insofar as environmental regulations limiting externalization of costs into the public commons, and workers' contracts reduce the percentage of a given volume of surplus value an owner can claim for himself. However, I'd argue the prime drivers of industrial off-shoring were 1) China and India liberalizing their labor and industrial policies in the '80's, and 2) Walmart's heavier than typical focus on shaving costs from its wholesale vendors.
However, according to Geeknet's latest quarterly statement, ThinkGreek's revenues and margins held steady from the previous quarter, and are notably higher than last year.
What is the point to this change? Obviously, to generate additional income for/.
What is the benefit for the users? There's currently nothing stopping virtually anyone from creating an account and adding their 2 cents.
What is the benefit for the queries? Currently, the accepted questions are necessarily broad, to be of interest to more users. Is this change going to lead to a (few/lot/googolplex) more queries being accepted, or to the existing volume of published queries getting more actual expert responses (IAAL, IAAMD, IAAEE, IAADBA, etc)?
According to their most recent quarterly statement, Geeknet as a whole is still losing money, albeit at a much slower pace than last year. Their gross margins are up, and they seem to have kept operating expenses steady. I guess we'll see if the added "media revenue" gets them over the hump without unduly pissing off existing readers.
Dog pilling on with the parent... 'C' may be the working title, but the trailer screams "Back To the '70's", in the good and bad sense. The all-to-brief sensor view of the asteroid and spacecraft flyby scenes looked promising. But, the music, titling, actors lighting and backdrops, and the scientist in his office dragged me kicking and screaming back to the pre-Star Wars 1970s, when all we had was the memory of 2001, and a whole lot of crap.
Anyway, I've already contributed my kickstart to a movie project, having kicked in a few bucks to the creator of Man Conquers Space, a guy in Oz who's been gradually pulling together a - uh - traditional live action/CGI film in his spare time.
Latency on the USB NIC? I sure it's worse than anything on a faster bus, but I've never tried to quantify it. The IPNR author has a short write up with some test results. For my home DSL network needs it has worked well enough. I've streamed Daily Show episodes, Youtube HD, and Hulu to a laptop over wifi behind the mini without a problem.
I've hosted IPNR on a number of older Macs over the years, using PCI for the second NIC on a G4 tower, and USB on a G3 iMac and G4 Mini. The iMac required kernel patches for IP over USB and was very flaky. The other two were hassle-free.
Since @sco_robinso brought up the old PC as router idea, I'll suggest an old PPC Mac Mini. Available cheap on ebay, etc. Add the Apple USB NIC, and you've got a router. It'll run Linux and its various routing solutions, or OS X and either the built-in connection sharing or Sustworks IP Network Router. The Mini has the added benefit of being discrete, quiet, and easy on the electric bill.
There are small, non-Apple PCs that'll match the requirement, but the Minis are plentiful and easy to find.
As Mr. Stross points out, most English-language books are published by a few big players. With Amazon, they find themselves in much the same position as many restaurants do with OpenTable... they've got one gatekeeper between them and their ultimate customers.
And, as with the restaurants, the tools build their own gate are available: create or buy their own coop service, and stop doing business with Amazon. There would be risk, and there would be a short term loss of business. But, the publishers should ask themselves: who can survive without whom longer?
The summary and a number of the comments may be going a wee bit overboard while lambasting the order of the court. Any court has a certain jurisdiction, dependent on the constitutions, legislative acts, treaties, and case law within that jurisdiction. How a NY state judge rules doesn't matter to me in HI unless I enter or transact business with NY. This is understood by the NY judge, and is assumed when writing the decision.
Likewise, I could sell material for the NSDAP on-line, and if a German federal judge doesn't like it, tough beans.
What would have caught my attention is if the text of Chanel, Inc v. Does had used the words like global or specifically stipulated a foreign search engine.
Just to be clear, I'm aware that there's a certain amount of mobile support that can be handled directly in CSS:
> @media only screen and (max-width: 999px) > @media only screen and (device-width: 768px) and (orientation: landscape) > @media only screen and (min-device-width: 320px) and (max-device-width: 480px)
Yes, the mechanism for designing pages that are usable on devices large and small, bandwidth constrained or not, is CSS. But, to the best of my knowledge, there ain't no way to know which tags or class of tag will best render in browser X without a large dose of either browser or capability detection. So, merely replying "CSS" is only giving half of the answer.
When Minolta (and then Konica/Minolta) designed their first DSLR, they stuck with the existing lens mount from the Minolta Maxxim series of auto focus film SLR. When Sony bought the Minolta camera business, they kept the Maxxim lens mount. Thus, you have the option of buying whichever Sony body you want with a single lens to start you out, and go to town among a large number of used lenses later on if the spirit moves you.
The Sony anti-shake (and auto-focus) mechanisms are ensconced within the body, unlike Nikon and Canon, so you don't lose any cabability among a large stock of older Maxxim lens going back to 1985.
Slashdot Mirror
Perhaps that would be a change too far. Since the Hawthorne Effect seems to rely on the impression one is being observed, we'd need to measure the distraction of diffuse actors mating over one's head, vs. the motivation of the actors seeming to stare back.
Your comment reminds me why I preferred seminar to lecture: we came to class to discuss the state of each student's paper, got an opportunity for feedback from instructor and peers, and got an extra dollop of subject expertise from the instructor.
Lecture gave me 'waaaaay too much leeway to how much material I elected to mentally engage with, or not, and too few opportunities to (literally and figuratively) test my comprehension, and address knowledge gaps.
That there is a weeding out process of freshmen is valid. The usual method of doing it (via lecture) is IMO hideously inefficient. Better to use methods like Mazur or @bcrowell to find who truly can't/won't learn the material, while giving the majority of students who are within the spectrum of those who can/will a better shot at becoming facile with it. As it is, we're obviously wasting a vast quality of mental potential and tuition dollars.
I usually use with Linux or OS X. There are times when I need to create a quickie WinNT-ish environment, and I don't care about network access. My wife has gone through several HP laptops that gave up the ghost shortly after the warranty expired. But, even in the afterlife, they can donate their drives, their displays, and even their OEM Windows licenses. It turns out that the reinstall DVDs aren't very particular about the (virtual) hardware they're run on, as long as I've got a good key.
You're absolutely correct. I was making a joke at the expense of the parent commenter, who evidently considers Federal employees to be overpaid, regardless of their skill level, and seems unaware of the widely understood tradeoff: less pay/more security with the feds v. more pay/less security in commercial outfits for experienced professionals in skilled positions.
So, ESR considers equates SOPA with the following as power grabs:
>> "cap and trade, campaign finance “reform”, the incandescent lightbulb ban, Obamacare, you name it"
More to the point, he equates attempts to assist the public interest by: 1) mitigating climate change, 2) limiting the power of big money to buy representation and reelect entrenched incumbents, and 3) provide health insurance as a public service rather than a profit center to putting the Federal Government at the full disposal of entrenched IP rent collectors.
Coming from Eric, or anyone else, this demonstrates my problem with libertarians: glued to a dogma, regardless of the context.
Currently, the Azimov Laws of Robotics come off as rather naive. That's because we're just getting started, and the utility of said Laws aren't generally recognized. They won't be until we've been hoist on our own petard a few times, including the power elite. Only when a large and broad enough sample of people have been killed, without a sustained advantage accruing to any one nation, will Azimov be seen as prophetic.
$45K salary at retirement, 30% = $15K / year guaranteed. That's more than a two person, poverty-level working household, so it is pretty cushy. It may even be more than the new Walmart stocker drop out. So each retiree is like a currently employee on the staff.
...over the heads of some commenters.
>> "There's still room for producers and financiers, they just need to stop thinking that the fact they brought $300k to the table means they can dictate to the end consumer DRM, or double the price."
I agree, but it's going to take some time to edumacate them. Probably not the current generation of players, maybe the up-and-coming. One strength Louis C.K. mentioned in his reddit iama is that when negotiating his contract with Fox, he was willing to walk away if he couldn't structure Louie the way he wanted. He traded off money for control.
Perhaps future entertainment investors will do the same.
>> For me torrenting has always been about convenience. I could record the shows that I want to watch and encode them and move them to my NAS, but that's a bigger PITA then simply torrenting the show to the internal distribution site.
Lard ass.
Points for Dr. Strangelove reference.
There's obviously not a meeting of minds between you and the people who actually run a war. ;) If you surf through the jobs sites for the major defense contractors, they are advertising explicitly for locations in IQ and AF. The State Department and other civilian agencies generally have to twist arms to get people to work in theater, so as far as they're concerned, qualified individuals who want to go just make their job easier.
Naturally (ar, ar), self-reproducing chemistry developed on Earth adapted to its unique environment. The stars, like dust, are scattered far and wide, and thus it's also natural that we're having trouble finding life that developed in other unique environments. Back when I was a kid, and our exo-solar list of planets was limited to "we think there's something circling Barnard's Star", it was no surprise we were getting hung up on the 'Rare Earth Hypothesis'.
Now that we've got a rapidly growing list of planets to point better sensors at, I think it's unduly anthropocentric.
I've read the leaked draft of the bill linked by @Viceice. Lacking background on the bill's authors, I'll hazard a guess that this is the work of incumbent local IT firms looking to lock out new entrants, and thus reduce competition and pressure to reduce billing rates. As such, it would be no different than taxi cab or barber licensing stateside, whose purpose is usually similar... while using the fig leaf of ensuring qualified vendors.
I suspect you're just making a rhetorical point, and logically correct.
On the off chance you weren't, you may wish to review US labor history, with the Pullman Strike and passage of the Taft-Hartley Act as especially significant milestones.
"Closed shops" are illegal in the US. Someone joining a company with a union contract may, however, be required to join a relevant trade union, or at least pay the dues.
The grandparent (troll-rated) post is correct as far as it goes (re: avoid EPA/unions), insofar as environmental regulations limiting externalization of costs into the public commons, and workers' contracts reduce the percentage of a given volume of surplus value an owner can claim for himself. However, I'd argue the prime drivers of industrial off-shoring were 1) China and India liberalizing their labor and industrial policies in the '80's, and 2) Walmart's heavier than typical focus on shaving costs from its wholesale vendors.
I think most of your post is probably spot on.
However, according to Geeknet's latest quarterly statement, ThinkGreek's revenues and margins held steady from the previous quarter, and are notably higher than last year.
What is the point to this change? Obviously, to generate additional income for /.
What is the benefit for the users? There's currently nothing stopping virtually anyone from creating an account and adding their 2 cents.
What is the benefit for the queries? Currently, the accepted questions are necessarily broad, to be of interest to more users. Is this change going to lead to a (few/lot/googolplex) more queries being accepted, or to the existing volume of published queries getting more actual expert responses (IAAL, IAAMD, IAAEE, IAADBA, etc)?
According to their most recent quarterly statement, Geeknet as a whole is still losing money, albeit at a much slower pace than last year. Their gross margins are up, and they seem to have kept operating expenses steady. I guess we'll see if the added "media revenue" gets them over the hump without unduly pissing off existing readers.
Dog pilling on with the parent... 'C' may be the working title, but the trailer screams "Back To the '70's", in the good and bad sense. The all-to-brief sensor view of the asteroid and spacecraft flyby scenes looked promising. But, the music, titling, actors lighting and backdrops, and the scientist in his office dragged me kicking and screaming back to the pre-Star Wars 1970s, when all we had was the memory of 2001, and a whole lot of crap.
Anyway, I've already contributed my kickstart to a movie project, having kicked in a few bucks to the creator of Man Conquers Space , a guy in Oz who's been gradually pulling together a - uh - traditional live action/CGI film in his spare time.
Latency on the USB NIC? I sure it's worse than anything on a faster bus, but I've never tried to quantify it. The IPNR author has a short write up with some test results. For my home DSL network needs it has worked well enough. I've streamed Daily Show episodes, Youtube HD, and Hulu to a laptop over wifi behind the mini without a problem.
I've hosted IPNR on a number of older Macs over the years, using PCI for the second NIC on a G4 tower, and USB on a G3 iMac and G4 Mini. The iMac required kernel patches for IP over USB and was very flaky. The other two were hassle-free.
Since @sco_robinso brought up the old PC as router idea, I'll suggest an old PPC Mac Mini. Available cheap on ebay, etc. Add the Apple USB NIC, and you've got a router. It'll run Linux and its various routing solutions, or OS X and either the built-in connection sharing or Sustworks IP Network Router. The Mini has the added benefit of being discrete, quiet, and easy on the electric bill.
There are small, non-Apple PCs that'll match the requirement, but the Minis are plentiful and easy to find.
As Mr. Stross points out, most English-language books are published by a few big players. With Amazon, they find themselves in much the same position as many restaurants do with OpenTable... they've got one gatekeeper between them and their ultimate customers.
And, as with the restaurants, the tools build their own gate are available: create or buy their own coop service, and stop doing business with Amazon. There would be risk, and there would be a short term loss of business. But, the publishers should ask themselves: who can survive without whom longer?
The summary and a number of the comments may be going a wee bit overboard while lambasting the order of the court. Any court has a certain jurisdiction, dependent on the constitutions, legislative acts, treaties, and case law within that jurisdiction. How a NY state judge rules doesn't matter to me in HI unless I enter or transact business with NY. This is understood by the NY judge, and is assumed when writing the decision.
Likewise, I could sell material for the NSDAP on-line, and if a German federal judge doesn't like it, tough beans.
What would have caught my attention is if the text of Chanel, Inc v. Does had used the words like global or specifically stipulated a foreign search engine.
Just to be clear, I'm aware that there's a certain amount of mobile support that can be handled directly in CSS:
> @media only screen and (max-width: 999px)
> @media only screen and (device-width: 768px) and (orientation: landscape)
> @media only screen and (min-device-width: 320px) and (max-device-width: 480px)
etc, but it isn't the end all-be all.
Yes, the mechanism for designing pages that are usable on devices large and small, bandwidth constrained or not, is CSS. But, to the best of my knowledge, there ain't no way to know which tags or class of tag will best render in browser X without a large dose of either browser or capability detection. So, merely replying "CSS" is only giving half of the answer.
When Minolta (and then Konica/Minolta) designed their first DSLR, they stuck with the existing lens mount from the Minolta Maxxim series of auto focus film SLR. When Sony bought the Minolta camera business, they kept the Maxxim lens mount. Thus, you have the option of buying whichever Sony body you want with a single lens to start you out, and go to town among a large number of used lenses later on if the spirit moves you.
The Sony anti-shake (and auto-focus) mechanisms are ensconced within the body, unlike Nikon and Canon, so you don't lose any cabability among a large stock of older Maxxim lens going back to 1985.