People don't have yard sales here - the most common way of selling stuff is online via a Norwegian ebay-style site called Finn.no. Culturally Norwegians are much more reserved and don't invite strangers onto their lawns. If a church or school or something organises a sale they will have a handheld card terminal or something.
There are a number of electronic payment method. Most people under 40 already use a mobile to mobile app payment method called vipps which is where you just enter a friends email and the amount you want to send and they get their amount to their account immediately. You can pay for coffee or groceries this way as well and there will only be more of that type of thing with other providers coming to the Norwegian market such as paypal, apple and facebook.
I live in Norway. I haven't touched cash in about 4 years - and that was on a trip to America.
Hand on my heart I havent been in a single situation where cash was required. We still keep 500 kroner (60 dollars?) in a drawer for home emergencies - but we've never had to use it.
MY 2 year old daughter will never see cash. Even in her birthday cards - she has a bank account and when the time comes for her to spend money she'll have a mobile phone.
When the core tenet of a manifesto is so patently false and absurd then OF COURSE the guy who wrote it will be shamed. It is a shameful document. Replace "Women" with "Blacks" or "Jews" or "Muslims" and see how legitimate this manifesto is.
Through history various commentators have attempted to define "Biological Differences" as the central reason why one group of human beings will perform better than others at various tasks. And then remember we're talking about maths, science and technology skills. Leadership skills. There is no scientific evidence WHATSOVER that men perform better in such tasks due to a biological advantage. NONE. It is a myth born from a 19th century gender disparity that is only reinforced by the idiocy on display in this manifesto. On the contrary there is plenty of evidence that shows that when you level the playing field in technology and science men and women can perform equally well, but that the playing field is NEVER equal. The author writes from a heavily biased and entirely inaccurate viewpoint, and spends no time or effort supporting his own theories with evidence, but rather pronouncing his prejudices with all the juicy truthiness one expects self-convincing bigots.
Companies need to be very careful about what data is being stored in someone else's datacenter.
I'm sure if enough of Walmart's suppliers store enough data in AWS, Amazon could get some tremendous insights into Walmart's supply chain.
In my opinion too many companies have rushed to the cloud and have not completely thought out the repercussions of that choice. If your data is stored in AWS or Azure is it really your data? What if the Government decides to subpoena your data and your company decides to fight the subpoena, but Amazon decides it isn't worth the trouble - and they hand over your data?
The day of reckoning is coming for cloud services and it won't be technical that brings the pain - it will be legal.
You are confused.
Most corporate customers will enter an entirely different service contract with cloud providers, more akin to a 3rd party commercial hosting contract which ensure security and privacy controls that are often subject to pretty strict SLAs and security contracts that can meet many regulatory requirements and policies.
This is entirely different from the EULA-level contracts that consumers often enter into in return for "free" cloud services - which will probably include data-mining etc.
However there are "trust issues" in today's surveillance society where we need to ask if our providers are willingly handing over customer data to government intelligence services. Several recent court cases involving Microsoft in Ireland and google in Pennsylvania with the US government give us some insight into a battle that concerns us all - but generally it must be said that Cloud providers are *so far* largely unwilling to compromise their customers data or exploit it to that level that you see to think they do. Its just bad for business and utterly undermines the "cloud is safe for business" concept.
Genuine question - I don't know AMD products that well - My last 2 cards have been Nvidia and its time for an upgrade (I'm chugging on a gtx 780).
Geforce Experience has a lot of these features that are being talked about - tied up in a ridiculous bloatware bundle - but they made it a sign-in service in the latest version. I've never seen such a stupid decision in my life. It was the easiest uninstall choice I ever make.
Think about it.. they want you to login to a cloud service to use functions on your fucking graphics card. I couldn't believe it when I did the driver update and suddenly it wanted me to register my personal information.
I will very seriously consider AMD the next time I do an upgrade -but I have to say that this news that AMD are going the bloatware route as well kind of alarms me because it sounds like AMD are looking at Nvidia's bloatware and thinking "Oh we should do that!"
Are they? What's the difference between this and NV experience pre-signup.
Chris Roberts already had the audience - So many people knew him and respected him for previous achievements that the buzz level was phenomenal.
Fans will do anything to raise and throw money at him - even making their own crowdfunders for the 10,000 dollar(!) pledges: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/2014-deloria-space-pirate-calender
>>Consciousness is weird. Quantum theory is weird. Therefore quantum theory must explain consciousness.
Quantum Theory is the new "magic" for all sorts of New Age thinkers.
Penrose at least proposes a mechanism of action (quantum tube thingies), which has the benefit of at least giving his theory something more than hand-waving to base his theory on, but has the downside of having absolutely no evidence to support it from studies of the structure of the brain.
Penrose is a smart guy (black holes and tiling and all that) but he does like to propose some rather outlandish things in his free time. Might be a correlation between the two, who knows.
Speaking as an amateur musician who hosts his own music for free on the internet.
If music is "good" (opinions will vary according to taste) people will listen to it repeatedly, word will spread, and people will become fans of the creators of that music - wanting to own something to demonstrate their fandom: A CD, an MP3, a t-shirt, a ticket to the next gig etc...
This is what makes getting fans more important than "selling cds" to most artists. Fans are LOVE followed by INCOME (You're not going to stop a year old girl from buying the next Hanna Montana, for example).
Distributors (most labels), on the other hand, are only interested in those revenue streams they can tie up for shortterm income - which creates one-hit-wonders, mediocre boybands, and starves out 99% of musicians - as well as actually alienating real fans and bands - driving a wedge between them. (for example: many record companies hold the rights to most full times bands music - and can override a bands decision on how they want to get their material out to fans, as exemplified in the article above).
Now: If it's not "good" music to begin with -. people won't listen to it -despite whether it is freely available or not. People *might* check it out out of curiosity - but won't return, and certainly won't put money into it if the y have a choice.
If they did already they will feel burned.
Professional distributors promote very much according to a "pay-to-try policy: they limit access to the extra songs on albums, demand roylaties from indy web radio stations..control the airwaves and promote airplay for only the (most commercial track) single across any medium (radio, itunes etc) that will take it.
This is why so much "Bad music" gets aired - in case you wonder why the charts are filled with shite (But you already knew that cos its a conspiracy theory and this is Slashdot).
Anyway: The income generated from "good music" by fans is largely independent of this supersale effort by the labels.... so arguably the best model for these bands, as exemplified by bands like Radiohead and 9-inch... is to actually give the shit away for free: They can recoup the "first sale" profit by attracting more fans.
Ironically most musicians have dreamed of "The record deal" since they were 5 years old... so usually they are actually the most reluctant to risk this sales model - preferring the safety of servitude to a label over the risk of pushing "valueless music" (if its free it aint worth much, right?).
Also: as this model starts to become more popular.. a lot of smaller bands will get lost in the noise. Maybe less millionaires will get made, but in the long run this is a much better world to play music in. I like it anyway.. but then I found a day job.
Shameless plug: My music (with money goes mouth) is available at Stabbing Pixies/
it will never hit the Billboards.. but I'm happy to make music I like - which you are free to listen to and not have to like or pay for.
I posted some transcripts of the deleted thread on my website www.stabbingpixies.com (front page link):
For info I was also involved in the thread discussion that got wiped as the user "m".
One of the sites linked to by this story, in turn linked to a glowing review of this Blu-Ray player by another site that praised its superiority over the very Oppo unit it is "based" on.
The hometheaterreview site owner has even gotten involved in the comments on that review, with accusations of "conspiracy" against a few of the commentators who are referring to Slashdot.
The comments are much more fun to read than the article itself!
Checkpoint Firewalls are run by 100% of the Fortune 500 companies, as well as most first-world police and military installations.
Checkpoint Secure Platform, the OS for its flagship products such as VSX, is a Red Hat deriviative.
Summary: The worlds premiere Military and Corporate Firewalls run on Red Hat Linux. Open source for the win.
Nuff said.
Hi,
Thanks for posting NYCL: Can I ask you to hazard a guess on the implications on this for RIAA?
How will they be brought down? Can this instance of creative exaggeration bring them down?
Will they get censured in court? Is there any disciplinary action they might expect?
Is it possible that they could argue that the 2 cases are different enough in that one they have been asked to involve themselves from an expert "perspective" whereas in the other they were just involved as a Joe Civilian?
Alternatively, could they argue that although they have an experts perspective, they at no time use tools or measures that are beyond the reach of ordinary individuals?
Congress passes a law to protect US citizens from unscrupulous gambling operations that are not subject to the same kind of regulations that Casinos in the U.S. must meet -- and the world responds via the WTO by trying to extort $100 Billion dollars from the U.S.
So.. EVERY OTHER country in the world has a problem with US protectionism for yet another industry, and you think THEY are ALL wrong?
Those evil casino-loving nations can't match the selfless regulations that America exclusively offers?
Can you seriously believe that the US passes its selective and irrational gambling laws (favouring one state over another, one type of sport over another) to protect YOUR interests as a consumer? Did I miss something? The Gambling commission as an ethics commitee perhaps?
You have commissions. They put their interests above yours. Deal with it.
I can ignore the urge to explain how hemming in YOUR choices in recreation affects your civil liberties - I will refrain from telling you how cool it is to play any game you like, for whatever kind of stake you like, and how cool it is to be involved in REAL global competitive events (You are sadly deluded by your gaming commission: The World Series is not a world series).
The "Protectonism makes you globally unfit and uncompetitive" speech would obviously be as wasted on you as your soon-to-be bankrupt car industry.
But perhaps I can appeal to your sense of morality? It's not fair.
Nothing stops an American gambling conglomerate from starting up in any other country. US bucks fund international gaming, just like any other business can operate from there towards the rest of the world as a market.
But there are so many commissions in the US that prevent foreign companies from reaching YOU as a market. Except the criminals who don't give a damn for ANY commitee.
In support of TFA: the above Iweek story really takes the cake for "most clueless" author on the subject of the GPL. One can take it as evidence that the GPL3 has become such a buzzword in the community that tech writers feel forced to comment even before they have even the slightest clue what the fuss is all about.
PJ over at groklaw politely stomped the author into the ground as one can see here:
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=200707131 92403106
Whle always a fan, I admire her tact here: she did it a lot less painfully than some in comments section of the original article;-)
Yes I read it: Did you? My remark was based on the unit price: KVMS start at 30 dollars.
Think about that for a sec. 30 bucks vs 1200 for a remote control console.
Perhaps I should rephrase: What it wont do for anyone that has ever used an alternative solution.
Big Whoopdido on the multiple screens: KVMS have run quad screen units for years: http://www.keyzone.com/elec-kvm/printer/multivideo .htm
and can offer touch screen if you need it http://www.vetra.com/touchscreen.html I currently run a system in my studio where I have 4 machines, one of which is dual screen, that I can switch between without fuss. KVM cost was about 600 dollars.
I reiterate: This is NOT a KVM replacement. A long distance multiscreen unit at best.
What it wont do:
For any "remote desktop" use (music studio, remote console etc), a KVM will be a far better option, as that will have mouse / keyboard and sound options in addition to graphics.
This product won't cut it for anything but a multidisplay, typical of bus terminals and airports, and dont these places already have similar technology already installed?
What it might do:
The visual quality should be noticeably better than your average KVM display: the fact that matrox stuff has traditionally been very good with HQ professional static graphics display (not to be confused with 3D rendering which they suck at badly) might mean that if you plugged in some seriously kick arse HD screens to this solution, you might have the mother of all distributed HD-TV networks.
I wouldn't mind having that around the house the next time I want to watch Serenity from the tub.
The listening environment needs to be equally quiet: No point in having high frequency fan noise coming from the corner whan attempting to de-ess (take the top of) high frequency sibilant vocal sounds, or try and place a hihat in a mix when you have the whistle of a pc-fan under your desk. Not to mention if you need to overdub from within the control room (quick fixing). A lot of artists like to sit in front of the speakers: by phase reversing one side of a stereo speaker while sending a mono mix, you get an almost total noise cancelling effect: Freddy Mercury used to sing with PA speakers directed at him this way - Personally I have never quite got the hang of it.
Lastly. a lot of project studio owners are musicians themselves. They need to be able to record from the control room.
Summary: The control room needs to be a noise controlled area also - not DEAD silent, so much as noticeably silent. a 40db powersupply is a buzzkill in a control room.
I don't see a new source of energy orders of magnitude above previous ones, like what nuclear power provided
I disagree, Humanity is already well aware of alternative power sources that make current nuclear energy (and propulsion systems thereof) look like a 1900s lizzy two-stroke.
Practically described: the fuel where "each year three space shuttle missions could bring enough fuel for all human beings across the world". It's worth checking out the propulsion section in wikipedia, and considering the implications to space travel within the next hundred years.
Where are we 6 generations from now? A world where mankind, and his innovations, is freed from the endless pursuit of fuel sources.
IMHO It will either apply itself to exploration or destruction, which I guess is proof of the conumdrum described in TFA. I prefer Hawkins optimism. We push slowly towards enlightenment, and the stars illuminate our way.
But practically. Right now, what is our first step? IMHO Colonisation of the moon, itself a lofty ideal, where Helium 3 is in harvestable abundance. And this at least is something we can reasonably hope to see in our lifetimes.
From there: Nothing is impossible.
This is a documentary from the 70s (with a wicked Stevie Wonder soundtrack) that slow-mo'd plants as they did their daily business. Totally psychedelic for its time, and even now a comfortingly bizarre look at our green friends.
In the context of the TFA I can honestly say this documentary is another strong indication that not all plants are emotional vegatables (figuratively speaking).
It's also been proven, time and again, that a patients survival rate is influenced by their state of mind.
No. "State of mind" relates directly to "Long term recovery chances". Fine for a cancer patient, but battlefield survival rates depend on rapid response and onsite medical suturing (Blood loss trumps State of mind in the battlefield survivability stakes).
Watch *Band of Brothers* and envision the field medics being replaced with unwieldly pipedal taxi cabs.
TFA doesn't describe a medical solution so much as a corpse carrier until it can provide ONSITE medical assistance (carrying plasma to frontline medics etc)
Anything else wastes time.
"Beyond the patient's needs, there is the very real likely possibility that a "friendly" looking robot is less likely to be attacked by the enemy."
Umm right. http://www.iraqbodycount.org/
Civilians account for most of the deaths in modern warfare. The Nazis had no compunction about it, and they never even nuked anyone.
I'll refrain from posting pics from Hiroshima, but frankly I don't see humanity growing more peaceful as technology progresses.
If soldiers can kill innocent women and children on a day-to-day basis, the bear is f*cked.
I knew before I read the headline that genomes would pop into the equation. Sigh.
Lets say we do manage to record the genome of every single remaining organism on earth within the next ten years. Does anyone else see the rather alarming side effect that we will then find another excuse to push even more species towards the brink? Like hunters needed excuses before, but now WE'VE GOT THE GENOME! We can wipe it out and bring it back to wipe it out again!
It seems like theres a whimsical notion that, given enough time and tech (50 years?) the human race will be able to recreate any creature from its original DNA - the "Jurasssic Park effect".
Never mind the needs of Biodiversity and strongest is fittest, never mind recreating scarce habititats, implanting hereditary memories, reorganising food chains. The genome promises so many things... including reincarnation from beyond the brink.
"Just whip me up a batch of White Rhinos outta the freezer there Bob!" "Where'll we put em later?" "Who cares - we can make as many as we like!"
Salvaging the genome of a species is NOT saving that species from extinction. It's putting it in a scientific museum for our children to gaze at.
IMHO: Put this money into protecting habitats. Not recording their demise.
This is the first rule of Russian government: We will retaliate!
I bet his "send" button is Big and red and sounds sirens when he presses it.
BUT:
God help us all if he decides offence is the best defence.
Be alert people: What's Russian for "Viagra?"
.sdrawkcab ecnatnes siht etirw ot emit dah I taht yadot cnys ot gnol os gnikat si ti tcaf nI....ledom 1002 ym sa cnys dna,sksat od,toob ot gnol sa eciwt sekat QAPI wen yM
It will take the sacrificial offering of one super-corp for the modern business world to realise the devastating consequences of the whole "Patent\IP?= sue like hell" cycle and amend it.
History teaches us that it is only with magnificent hindsight, following spectacular failures, that change comes to accepted business practices.(Enron anyone? Worldcom?)
Since we can all agree that suing over IP is an accepted, if dispicable, business practise these days, then think of the hindsight that super-corporations will apply to this case, should it succeed:
"Joe farmer and his one shot patent can bring me down by inventing shit-on-a-stick first".
The only people that can change the outlandish rate of corporate litigation are the corporations, by lobbying. The typed protests of slasdotters dont do much, alas.
I think it would be a good thing for a whale like Microsoft to be beached. Whilst one or two corps (Sony?) might make a benefit, there will be plenty more looking on in horror.
One small company harpooning the worlds most successful company?
If that doesn't bring about lobbied changes to the IP laws, I don't know what will.
Trust me people. We want this one.
Slashdot Mirror
People don't have yard sales here - the most common way of selling stuff is online via a Norwegian ebay-style site called Finn.no. Culturally Norwegians are much more reserved and don't invite strangers onto their lawns. If a church or school or something organises a sale they will have a handheld card terminal or something. There are a number of electronic payment method. Most people under 40 already use a mobile to mobile app payment method called vipps which is where you just enter a friends email and the amount you want to send and they get their amount to their account immediately. You can pay for coffee or groceries this way as well and there will only be more of that type of thing with other providers coming to the Norwegian market such as paypal, apple and facebook.
I live in Norway. I haven't touched cash in about 4 years - and that was on a trip to America. Hand on my heart I havent been in a single situation where cash was required. We still keep 500 kroner (60 dollars?) in a drawer for home emergencies - but we've never had to use it. MY 2 year old daughter will never see cash. Even in her birthday cards - she has a bank account and when the time comes for her to spend money she'll have a mobile phone.
When the core tenet of a manifesto is so patently false and absurd then OF COURSE the guy who wrote it will be shamed. It is a shameful document. Replace "Women" with "Blacks" or "Jews" or "Muslims" and see how legitimate this manifesto is. Through history various commentators have attempted to define "Biological Differences" as the central reason why one group of human beings will perform better than others at various tasks. And then remember we're talking about maths, science and technology skills. Leadership skills. There is no scientific evidence WHATSOVER that men perform better in such tasks due to a biological advantage. NONE. It is a myth born from a 19th century gender disparity that is only reinforced by the idiocy on display in this manifesto. On the contrary there is plenty of evidence that shows that when you level the playing field in technology and science men and women can perform equally well, but that the playing field is NEVER equal. The author writes from a heavily biased and entirely inaccurate viewpoint, and spends no time or effort supporting his own theories with evidence, but rather pronouncing his prejudices with all the juicy truthiness one expects self-convincing bigots.
Companies need to be very careful about what data is being stored in someone else's datacenter.
I'm sure if enough of Walmart's suppliers store enough data in AWS, Amazon could get some tremendous insights into Walmart's supply chain.
In my opinion too many companies have rushed to the cloud and have not completely thought out the repercussions of that choice. If your data is stored in AWS or Azure is it really your data? What if the Government decides to subpoena your data and your company decides to fight the subpoena, but Amazon decides it isn't worth the trouble - and they hand over your data?
The day of reckoning is coming for cloud services and it won't be technical that brings the pain - it will be legal.
You are confused. Most corporate customers will enter an entirely different service contract with cloud providers, more akin to a 3rd party commercial hosting contract which ensure security and privacy controls that are often subject to pretty strict SLAs and security contracts that can meet many regulatory requirements and policies. This is entirely different from the EULA-level contracts that consumers often enter into in return for "free" cloud services - which will probably include data-mining etc. However there are "trust issues" in today's surveillance society where we need to ask if our providers are willingly handing over customer data to government intelligence services. Several recent court cases involving Microsoft in Ireland and google in Pennsylvania with the US government give us some insight into a battle that concerns us all - but generally it must be said that Cloud providers are *so far* largely unwilling to compromise their customers data or exploit it to that level that you see to think they do. Its just bad for business and utterly undermines the "cloud is safe for business" concept.
Genuine question - I don't know AMD products that well - My last 2 cards have been Nvidia and its time for an upgrade (I'm chugging on a gtx 780). Geforce Experience has a lot of these features that are being talked about - tied up in a ridiculous bloatware bundle - but they made it a sign-in service in the latest version. I've never seen such a stupid decision in my life. It was the easiest uninstall choice I ever make. Think about it.. they want you to login to a cloud service to use functions on your fucking graphics card. I couldn't believe it when I did the driver update and suddenly it wanted me to register my personal information. I will very seriously consider AMD the next time I do an upgrade -but I have to say that this news that AMD are going the bloatware route as well kind of alarms me because it sounds like AMD are looking at Nvidia's bloatware and thinking "Oh we should do that!" Are they? What's the difference between this and NV experience pre-signup.
OMFG! The woman pushed you out of her feckin womb and you cant do a bit of tech support? Kids these days!
Chris Roberts already had the audience - So many people knew him and respected him for previous achievements that the buzz level was phenomenal. Fans will do anything to raise and throw money at him - even making their own crowdfunders for the 10,000 dollar(!) pledges: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/2014-deloria-space-pirate-calender
>>Consciousness is weird. Quantum theory is weird. Therefore quantum theory must explain consciousness.
Quantum Theory is the new "magic" for all sorts of New Age thinkers.
Penrose at least proposes a mechanism of action (quantum tube thingies), which has the benefit of at least giving his theory something more than hand-waving to base his theory on, but has the downside of having absolutely no evidence to support it from studies of the structure of the brain.
Penrose is a smart guy (black holes and tiling and all that) but he does like to propose some rather outlandish things in his free time. Might be a correlation between the two, who knows.
So... consciousness is a series of tubes?
Speaking as an amateur musician who hosts his own music for free on the internet.
.. but I'm happy to make music I like - which you are free to listen to and not have to like or pay for.
If music is "good" (opinions will vary according to taste) people will listen to it repeatedly, word will spread, and people will become fans of the creators of that music - wanting to own something to demonstrate their fandom: A CD, an MP3, a t-shirt, a ticket to the next gig etc... This is what makes getting fans more important than "selling cds" to most artists. Fans are LOVE followed by INCOME (You're not going to stop a year old girl from buying the next Hanna Montana, for example).
Distributors (most labels), on the other hand, are only interested in those revenue streams they can tie up for shortterm income - which creates one-hit-wonders, mediocre boybands, and starves out 99% of musicians - as well as actually alienating real fans and bands - driving a wedge between them. (for example: many record companies hold the rights to most full times bands music - and can override a bands decision on how they want to get their material out to fans, as exemplified in the article above).
Now: If it's not "good" music to begin with -. people won't listen to it -despite whether it is freely available or not. People *might* check it out out of curiosity - but won't return, and certainly won't put money into it if the y have a choice. If they did already they will feel burned.
Professional distributors promote very much according to a "pay-to-try policy: they limit access to the extra songs on albums, demand roylaties from indy web radio stations..control the airwaves and promote airplay for only the (most commercial track) single across any medium (radio, itunes etc) that will take it. This is why so much "Bad music" gets aired - in case you wonder why the charts are filled with shite (But you already knew that cos its a conspiracy theory and this is Slashdot).
Anyway: The income generated from "good music" by fans is largely independent of this supersale effort by the labels.... so arguably the best model for these bands, as exemplified by bands like Radiohead and 9-inch... is to actually give the shit away for free: They can recoup the "first sale" profit by attracting more fans. Ironically most musicians have dreamed of "The record deal" since they were 5 years old... so usually they are actually the most reluctant to risk this sales model - preferring the safety of servitude to a label over the risk of pushing "valueless music" (if its free it aint worth much, right?).
Also: as this model starts to become more popular.. a lot of smaller bands will get lost in the noise. Maybe less millionaires will get made, but in the long run this is a much better world to play music in. I like it anyway.. but then I found a day job.
Shameless plug: My music (with money goes mouth) is available at Stabbing Pixies/ it will never hit the Billboards
I posted some transcripts of the deleted thread on my website www.stabbingpixies.com (front page link): For info I was also involved in the thread discussion that got wiped as the user "m".
One of the sites linked to by this story, in turn linked to a glowing review of this Blu-Ray player by another site that praised its superiority over the very Oppo unit it is "based" on.
The hometheaterreview site owner has even gotten involved in the comments on that review, with accusations of "conspiracy" against a few of the commentators who are referring to Slashdot. The comments are much more fun to read than the article itself!
Checkpoint Firewalls are run by 100% of the Fortune 500 companies, as well as most first-world police and military installations. Checkpoint Secure Platform, the OS for its flagship products such as VSX, is a Red Hat deriviative. Summary: The worlds premiere Military and Corporate Firewalls run on Red Hat Linux. Open source for the win. Nuff said.
Hi,
Thanks for posting NYCL: Can I ask you to hazard a guess on the implications on this for RIAA?
How will they be brought down? Can this instance of creative exaggeration bring them down?
Will they get censured in court? Is there any disciplinary action they might expect?
Is it possible that they could argue that the 2 cases are different enough in that one they have been asked to involve themselves from an expert "perspective" whereas in the other they were just involved as a Joe Civilian?
Alternatively, could they argue that although they have an experts perspective, they at no time use tools or measures that are beyond the reach of ordinary individuals?
Where exactly will they be caught in the lie?
So.. EVERY OTHER country in the world has a problem with US protectionism for yet another industry, and you think THEY are ALL wrong?
Those evil casino-loving nations can't match the selfless regulations that America exclusively offers?
Can you seriously believe that the US passes its selective and irrational gambling laws (favouring one state over another, one type of sport over another) to protect YOUR interests as a consumer? Did I miss something? The Gambling commission as an ethics commitee perhaps?
You have commissions. They put their interests above yours. Deal with it.
I can ignore the urge to explain how hemming in YOUR choices in recreation affects your civil liberties - I will refrain from telling you how cool it is to play any game you like, for whatever kind of stake you like, and how cool it is to be involved in REAL global competitive events (You are sadly deluded by your gaming commission: The World Series is not a world series).
The "Protectonism makes you globally unfit and uncompetitive" speech would obviously be as wasted on you as your soon-to-be bankrupt car industry.
But perhaps I can appeal to your sense of morality? It's not fair.
Nothing stops an American gambling conglomerate from starting up in any other country. US bucks fund international gaming, just like any other business can operate from there towards the rest of the world as a market.
But there are so many commissions in the US that prevent foreign companies from reaching YOU as a market. Except the criminals who don't give a damn for ANY commitee.
Illegal gambling LOVES America right now.
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/ 2007/07/open_source_is_1.html
1 92403106
;-)
In support of TFA: the above Iweek story really takes the cake for "most clueless" author on the subject of the GPL. One can take it as evidence that the GPL3 has become such a buzzword in the community that tech writers feel forced to comment even before they have even the slightest clue what the fuss is all about.
PJ over at groklaw politely stomped the author into the ground as one can see here:
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070713
Whle always a fan, I admire her tact here: she did it a lot less painfully than some in comments section of the original article
Yes I read it: Did you? My remark was based on the unit price: KVMS start at 30 dollars.o .htm
and can offer touch screen if you need it http://www.vetra.com/touchscreen.html
Think about that for a sec. 30 bucks vs 1200 for a remote control console. Perhaps I should rephrase: What it wont do for anyone that has ever used an alternative solution.
Big Whoopdido on the multiple screens: KVMS have run quad screen units for years: http://www.keyzone.com/elec-kvm/printer/multivide
I currently run a system in my studio where I have 4 machines, one of which is dual screen, that I can switch between without fuss. KVM cost was about 600 dollars.
I reiterate: This is NOT a KVM replacement. A long distance multiscreen unit at best.
What it wont do: For any "remote desktop" use (music studio, remote console etc), a KVM will be a far better option, as that will have mouse / keyboard and sound options in addition to graphics.
This product won't cut it for anything but a multidisplay, typical of bus terminals and airports, and dont these places already have similar technology already installed?
What it might do: The visual quality should be noticeably better than your average KVM display: the fact that matrox stuff has traditionally been very good with HQ professional static graphics display (not to be confused with 3D rendering which they suck at badly) might mean that if you plugged in some seriously kick arse HD screens to this solution, you might have the mother of all distributed HD-TV networks.
I wouldn't mind having that around the house the next time I want to watch Serenity from the tub.
Obviously you've never worked in a music studio.
The listening environment needs to be equally quiet: No point in having high frequency fan noise coming from the corner whan attempting to de-ess (take the top of) high frequency sibilant vocal sounds, or try and place a hihat in a mix when you have the whistle of a pc-fan under your desk. Not to mention if you need to overdub from within the control room (quick fixing). A lot of artists like to sit in front of the speakers: by phase reversing one side of a stereo speaker while sending a mono mix, you get an almost total noise cancelling effect: Freddy Mercury used to sing with PA speakers directed at him this way - Personally I have never quite got the hang of it.
Lastly. a lot of project studio owners are musicians themselves. They need to be able to record from the control room.
Summary: The control room needs to be a noise controlled area also - not DEAD silent, so much as noticeably silent. a 40db powersupply is a buzzkill in a control room.
Helium 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3
Practically described: the fuel where "each year three space shuttle missions could bring enough fuel for all human beings across the world". It's worth checking out the propulsion section in wikipedia, and considering the implications to space travel within the next hundred years.
Where are we 6 generations from now? A world where mankind, and his innovations, is freed from the endless pursuit of fuel sources.
IMHO It will either apply itself to exploration or destruction, which I guess is proof of the conumdrum described in TFA. I prefer Hawkins optimism. We push slowly towards enlightenment, and the stars illuminate our way.
But practically. Right now, what is our first step? IMHO Colonisation of the moon, itself a lofty ideal, where Helium 3 is in harvestable abundance. And this at least is something we can reasonably hope to see in our lifetimes.
From there: Nothing is impossible.
I don't think its possible to sit through "The Secret Life of Plants" and not wonder just a little?
l ants
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Life_of_P
This is a documentary from the 70s (with a wicked Stevie Wonder soundtrack) that slow-mo'd plants as they did their daily business. Totally psychedelic for its time, and even now a comfortingly bizarre look at our green friends.
In the context of the TFA I can honestly say this documentary is another strong indication that not all plants are emotional vegatables (figuratively speaking).
No. "State of mind" relates directly to "Long term recovery chances". Fine for a cancer patient, but battlefield survival rates depend on rapid response and onsite medical suturing (Blood loss trumps State of mind in the battlefield survivability stakes).
Watch *Band of Brothers* and envision the field medics being replaced with unwieldly pipedal taxi cabs.
TFA doesn't describe a medical solution so much as a corpse carrier until it can provide ONSITE medical assistance (carrying plasma to frontline medics etc)
Anything else wastes time.
"Beyond the patient's needs, there is the very real likely possibility that a "friendly" looking robot is less likely to be attacked by the enemy."
Umm right. http://www.iraqbodycount.org/
Civilians account for most of the deaths in modern warfare. The Nazis had no compunction about it, and they never even nuked anyone.
I'll refrain from posting pics from Hiroshima, but frankly I don't see humanity growing more peaceful as technology progresses.
If soldiers can kill innocent women and children on a day-to-day basis, the bear is f*cked.
I knew before I read the headline that genomes would pop into the equation. Sigh.
Lets say we do manage to record the genome of every single remaining organism on earth within the next ten years. Does anyone else see the rather alarming side effect that we will then find another excuse to push even more species towards the brink? Like hunters needed excuses before, but now WE'VE GOT THE GENOME!
We can wipe it out and bring it back to wipe it out again!
It seems like theres a whimsical notion that, given enough time and tech (50 years?) the human race will be able to recreate any creature from its original DNA - the "Jurasssic Park effect".
Never mind the needs of Biodiversity and strongest is fittest, never mind recreating scarce habititats, implanting hereditary memories, reorganising food chains.
The genome promises so many things... including reincarnation from beyond the brink.
"Just whip me up a batch of White Rhinos outta the freezer there Bob!"
"Where'll we put em later?"
"Who cares - we can make as many as we like!"
Salvaging the genome of a species is NOT saving that species from extinction. It's putting it in a scientific museum for our children to gaze at.
IMHO: Put this money into protecting habitats. Not recording their demise.
Flame me. Save the Rhino.
This is the first rule of Russian government: We will retaliate! I bet his "send" button is Big and red and sounds sirens when he presses it. BUT: God help us all if he decides offence is the best defence. Be alert people: What's Russian for "Viagra?"
It will take the sacrificial offering of one super-corp for the modern business world to realise the devastating consequences of the whole "Patent\IP?= sue like hell" cycle and amend it. History teaches us that it is only with magnificent hindsight, following spectacular failures, that change comes to accepted business practices.(Enron anyone? Worldcom?) Since we can all agree that suing over IP is an accepted, if dispicable, business practise these days, then think of the hindsight that super-corporations will apply to this case, should it succeed: "Joe farmer and his one shot patent can bring me down by inventing shit-on-a-stick first". The only people that can change the outlandish rate of corporate litigation are the corporations, by lobbying. The typed protests of slasdotters dont do much, alas. I think it would be a good thing for a whale like Microsoft to be beached. Whilst one or two corps (Sony?) might make a benefit, there will be plenty more looking on in horror. One small company harpooning the worlds most successful company? If that doesn't bring about lobbied changes to the IP laws, I don't know what will. Trust me people. We want this one.