By the way, on the off-chance that the data says the equivalent of 'For The Love Of God, Stop Using This Device, We're Surprised You're Not Dead Yet,' does anyone think that people would stop using them?
Well, probably not. But just in case, I understand the cellphone companies are looking into equipping each mouthpiece with a nicotine dispenser. . .
This general problem has been discussed on several occasions in comp.risks. Here's an observation (from 1986) that may (still) be relevant:
[Traditional] systems appear to be reasonably secure, but this is primarily due to effective vigilance (e.g. poll watchers from each party). When enough of the "system" falls under the effective control of a single organization then fraud becomes possible, hence inevitable (e.g. Chicago under the Machine).
The "risk" involved in computerization of the ballot collection and counting process is the centralization of much of the process under the control of a single organization (hardware and software system). The challenge is to assure that the resulting system is sufficiently distributed and subject to routine checks so that the potential for fraud is not increased.
There's an interesting article on the origins of mathematical physics, based largely on the material in this manuscript, in the June 2000 issue of Physics Today.
So it appears *someone* had the drives and hopes to remain anonymous by returning them to the copier room rather than personally to the head of security. Two obvious theories come to mind:
- "Take these, copy them, and bring them back. They'll never be missed."
- "We have to move the Nuclear Secret disk drives because of the fire? Time to move my collection of porn files onto other media. .."
Watch for off-by-one errors in the day of the week starting tomorrow. In looking for Y2K bugs earlier this year I stumbled across a faulty C implementation of the Zeller algorithm, which looks plausible and works fine for days late in any century, but breaks starting in March early in the century. It was in a file specific to XVTDL, but I wouldn't be surprised if others had made the same error.
"A common misconception is that the mouse was invented at Xerox PARC. It was actually first developed at the Stanford Research Institute..."
Yes, specifically by Engelbart and, IIRC, someone else in his Augmentation group (DE's name is on the original mouse patent). Here the confusion arises because the original poster incorrectly indicates that Engelbart worked at PARC.
> somebody came up with laser printing (or > photoconducters, or whatever is the key technology > involved in photocopying/laser printing)
Data-modulated raster-scanning laser beam, to discharge the photoreceptor (instead of light reflected from a physical document as in a copier). I believe/Fumbling the Future/ is correct in ascribing the concept to Gary Starkweather, who came up with it while working among the xerographers in Webster NY (but transferred to PARC to develop it).
Turcotte has a 2-part paper on "Self-Affine Time Series" in a recent/Adv. Geophys./ that looks, by timing and title, as if it would provide the technical information those who are really interested would want.
Slashdot Mirror
James Carse's distinction may be helpful here:
"To be prepared against surprise is to be trained.
To be prepared for surprise is to be educated."
By the way, on the off-chance that the data says the equivalent of 'For The Love Of God, Stop Using This Device, We're Surprised You're Not Dead Yet,' does anyone think that people would stop using them?
Well, probably not. But just in case, I understand the cellphone companies are looking into equipping each mouthpiece with a nicotine dispenser. . .
This general problem has been discussed on several occasions in comp.risks. Here's an observation (from 1986) that may (still) be relevant:
[Traditional] systems appear to be
reasonably secure, but this is primarily due to effective vigilance (e.g.
poll watchers from each party). When enough of the "system" falls under the
effective control of a single organization then fraud becomes possible,
hence inevitable (e.g. Chicago under the Machine).
The "risk" involved in computerization of the ballot collection and counting
process is the centralization of much of the process under the control of a
single organization (hardware and software system). The challenge is to
assure that the resulting system is sufficiently distributed and subject to
routine checks so that the potential for fraud is not increased.
There's an interesting article on the origins of mathematical physics, based largely on the material in this manuscript, in the June 2000 issue of Physics Today.
So it appears *someone* had the drives and hopes to remain anonymous by returning them to the copier room rather than personally to the head of security. Two obvious theories come to mind:
."
- "Take these, copy them, and bring them back. They'll never be missed."
- "We have to move the Nuclear Secret disk drives because of the fire? Time to move my collection of porn files onto other media. .
Watch for off-by-one errors in the day of the week starting tomorrow. In looking for Y2K bugs earlier this year I stumbled across a faulty C implementation of the Zeller algorithm, which looks plausible and works fine for days late in any century, but breaks starting in March early in the century. It was in a file specific to XVTDL, but I wouldn't be surprised if others had made the same error.
"A common misconception is that the mouse was invented at Xerox PARC. It was actually first developed at the Stanford Research Institute..."
Yes, specifically by Engelbart and, IIRC, someone else in his Augmentation group (DE's name is on the original mouse patent). Here the confusion arises because the original poster incorrectly indicates that Engelbart worked at PARC.
> somebody came up with laser printing (or
/Fumbling the Future/ is correct in ascribing the concept to Gary Starkweather, who came up with it while working among the xerographers in Webster NY (but transferred to PARC to develop it).
> photoconducters, or whatever is the key technology
> involved in photocopying/laser printing)
Data-modulated raster-scanning laser beam, to discharge the photoreceptor (instead of light reflected from a physical document as in a copier). I believe
Turcotte has a 2-part paper on "Self-Affine Time Series" in a recent /Adv. Geophys./ that looks, by timing and title, as if it would provide the technical information those who are really interested would want.