Imagine an autonomous beowolf cluster of these. It would bring an entirely new level to the quality of trap/skeet shotgun competition. I, for one, can hardly wait...
IPTV may not be on hold in the "Old World", but it sure as heck is on hold out here in the "New World", at least in the USA.
The hold-up in the USA is not "content", because IPTV can be organized to give all the major content providers their share of the cash "pie". The hold-up in the USA is the widespread availability of broadband internet service -- without that broadband "pipe", available content is meaningless. The worst thing that could have happened for the widespread availability of those "fat pipes" was the break-up of AT&T (Ma Bell) before their national monopoly went digital/fiber.
And fiber is the only way to go for the IPTV "revolution" in the USA -- distances are too great for reliance upon the archaic POTS copper infra- structure for broadband service. The regional telcos own the infrastructure, unlike many of the broadband cable operators. And in many areas of the USA, you cannot even get reliable dial-up phone service -- it took a Federal mandate dictated to a national monopoly to force telephone service to many more rural areas. That mandate is gone; the monolithic monopoly is gone; and the chance for widespread adoption of broadband telco service is also gone. Many brand new real estate developments are being forced to do the "last mile" for broadband service because the telcos will not. And the relaxed regulatory structure for the regional telcos provides no real impetus for the fabled FTTP (Fiber To The Premises) broadband "nirvana". Widespread broadband access such as is found in Korea and Japan will never happen in the USA.
The telcos want increased monopoly power (and their getting it from the FCC and the states), but without the increased regulatory oversight that would coerce them into providing near- universal broadband service. It is turning into a win-win for the telcos, and a lose-lose for the consumers.
TV over IP is needed, if only by the telcos. Cable already provides content, and broadband internet. Cable companies are, as a rule, more responsive to local/regional governments in providing service to the broadest portion of the population -- for which they are amply rewarded by being granted monopoly status. The telcos are regulated by the states and the Federal government. Ever since the breakup of AT&T (aka Ma Bell), the regional telcos have been more tightly regulated. The cable companies don't seem to have much problem in adjusting their service agreements, or of raising their rates. The only way that the telcos can get into the same "profit" pattern is by what they are doing now -- consolidating the regional telcos, merging with wireless and cell phone companies, and getting a "sweetheart" deal from the FCC for bundling services. Only by limiting competition (like the current spate of state legislation regarding muni WiFi) can the telcos approach the level of monopoly status that the cable companies already have. The telcos cannot/ will not compete on the basis of best service at the best price -- future FTTP is a pure BS "carrot" they offer to their regulators as an inducement for monopoly status. The telcos (generally) own the infrastructure (POTS), and they will not guarantee anything better than 24kbps (voice) quality, regardless of distance from their COs (Central Offices). The public (and the regulators) are supposed to "buy" the notion that but for their lack of monopoly status, they would be running FTTP (Fiber To The Premises) everywhere. Be skeptical; be very skeptical. Neither DSL nor ADSL are much good beyond 18K feet from their COs, but they still market the heck out of their "broadband service" based upon crappy POTS infrastructure. The regulators would do well to hold the telco's proverbial feet to the fire for providing acceptable up/down bandwidth over POTS before granting the telcos any further monopoly status (eg. "bundling" vs "bare" access). And without decent broadband bandwidth based upon the POTS they own, the telcos are putting the cart before the horse when it comes to sinking vast sums of money into "content" instead of infrastructure. The telcos have a very long way to go before IPTV becomes a realistic option.
NASA is being pushed away from manned flight to robotics, and from pure science to applications. Why is this a surprise, considering that the neo-cons and religious fundamentalists who are currently
running this country?
We "need" Star Wars to protect us from the "Axis of Evil", we need more troops for our "war on terror", and we "need" to eliminate the populist social safety net (Medicare/Medicaid/SS). The money NASA will spend on robotics technology can be leveraged into Department of Defense programs like "Star Wars", UAVs, and robotic "warriors". Why else was someone pulled from the DoD "Star Wars" program to head up NASA?
The basic presumption is (at least from the regime currently in power) that spending on "pure science" is "wasteful" of tax dollars (unlike the USA's war in Iraq and the unsuccessful search for WMD). When the Secretary of Commerce AND the head of the Federal Reserve both agree that off-shore out-sourcing is "good" for America, they are basically telling the American people where their high tech jobs (and future scientific advances) will be coming from -- off-shore. The plug has been pulled in the USA for scientific research; it has been deemed more cost effective to buy it from somewhere else.
This country will be good for only one thing when the neo-cons are done with their grand scheme -- making war. And if we cannot get enough manpower to fill the ranks of the military (including illegal aliens), then we will build the robots (or buy the imported robots) we need for that purpose. The rest of the economy will be based upon Taco
Bells, Mickey Mouse, and Wal-Marts.
Not to quibble, but MSFT played a waiting game in the USA -- it only took a regime change for MSFT to be able to dictate their own punishment. No doubt, MSFT is playing this same waiting game in the EU.
Politicians are pretty much alike the whole world over; money talks, and more money talks louder. American politicians may find (to their consternation) that they were bought far too cheaply compared to their brethern in the EU.
Corporations absolutely hate the Sarbanes-Oxley law, particularly those portions that require them to retain electronic evidence that can be used against them later. Between MSFT's legal shennanigans in their lawsuit with Burst, this new regulation, as well as the new DRM initiatives from MSFT (Palladium & patented XML), corporations (and their legislative stooges) will effectively have eliminated this threat to their malfeasance. A whistleblower cannot "blow the whistle" if he or she will not have the capability to reveal insider documents. MSFT has gotten away with the selective destruction of pertinant electronic documents in court proceedings. This does not bode well for "open democracy" either, since the same trends are occurring within the government. George W. Bush has not only sequestered his prior records (Air National Guard/Governor of TX), but has overriden the law regarding the National Archives with an Executive Order.
As far as I am concerned, where there is smoke there is fire. Corporations that resist storing/ archiving electronic files do have something to hide. Governments that resist storing/archiving public documents (or sealing them forever) also have something to hide. There is no other real rationale for such subversive behavior, especially with Sarbanes-Oxley as law of the land.
Exactly! Who in their right mind would buy a no-name computer w/linux and w/mono screen when they can get a name brand computer w/MSFT and w/colour screen for $1 USD less?
The Bush administration's Dept. of Justice has announced that all is forgiven to AT&T (Ma Bell), in keeping with the non-penalties involked against MSFT in their anti-monopoly lawsuit.
The regional (baby) "Bell" telcos have just announced a conference during which the telcos are expected to plan their re-merger.
The FCC has just announced that the television and radio media conglomerates will now be permitted to own up to 100% of any given market.
The FCC and the FTC have just come out in a joint declaration that dialup ISPs, WiFi-based ISPs, and independent DSL service providers have been issued C&D orders for their business operations. Federal mediators are expected to offer these independent operators up to 10 cents on the dollar, dependent upon the number of customers they can bring to the table.
Patenting the wheel would be a most excellent idea, especially if done the Japanese way (by also patenting all conceivable potential uses for the patent). It is not as if the USPTO actually bothers with "prior art" anymore -- just have the cash on hand for patenting the wheel and all its possible applications.
All of this business about destroying paper- based patents prior to their being digitized and put into their database(s) reminds me of the months of missing MSFT emails regarding a lawsuit they were involved in. This is not just stupid, it is criminally stupid. Who is the prime contractor for the USPTO, MSFT or perhaps EDS? WTF!
Perhaps Dubya has increased NASA funding -- but not for the repair of the HST (Hubble Space Telescope). The real money is going into robotics, and the very same prime contractors that work for NASA also work (mainly) for the Department of Defense. Federal funds earmarked for "civilian" robotics space missions is fungible, as is the technology. A pretty neat way to hide the massive increase in military spending is to spend NASA money on technology that will transfer to the military. It is no mere coincidence that the new head of NASA was plucked from the Pentagon's Star Wars program.
Every Bush initiative (excepting military) since 2001, be it national security (borders & seaports), education (No Child Left Behind), Medicare/Medicaid, or NASA's proverbial "Mars Mission" have been severely underfunded mandates. With the exceptions of warfare, and rewarding corporate financial contributors, every other "big Bush initiative" has been underfunded. In nearly all instances, the states have been required to pick up the "slack" and increase taxes to make up for the lack of Federal funds. Those Federral funds went into 3 years of tax cuts and tax reform that primarily rewarded the "fat cats" and corporations.
This new generation of robotic satellite does not have the capabilities necessary for the autonomous or remote repair of the HST (neither adaptability nor dexterity nor payload). This next-gen NASA robotic satellite is, however, capable of the interdiction and destruction of
OPSes (Other Peoples' Satellites), its intended function.
Gee, why is this so significant? Well, try tying a few news articles together.
(a) Bush revives the Star Wars program (b) Bush cuts NASA spending (HST) (c) NASA invests in robotic satellites (d) Bush appoints Star Wars exec to head NASA (e) NASA announces first robotic satellite
Anyone that cannot add these up and come up with the correct answer -- the USA is fully engaged in the militarization of space, is one can short of a six-pack.
Unfortunately, the USA has been "blessed" with the regime currently in power, which has turned government secrecy into high art. When the Executive branch routinely "thumbs it nose" at both the Legislative branch AND the Judicial branch, and engages in the wholesale generation of propaganda (even from government agencies) in order to attempt to sway public opinion, I would say that that precious "middle ground" is fast disappearing from beneath the feet of the governed.
The HST's orbit was originally determined by (1) ease of servicing, and (2) use of Earth's magnetic field.
The Hubble Space Telescope uses solar panels, electromagnetic "reaction bars", and gyroscopes to maintain and/or alter the direction the telescope is pointing in, as well as maintaining proper alignment of the solar panels. Failure of the gyroscopes has been a prominent/recurring problem, which affects the science mission and flight safety. Sitting at the edge of Earth's atmosphere has eventually altered the HST's orbital stability. Boosting the orbit away from Earth's gravity also takes it farther away from Earth's magnetic field. With less of Earth's magnetic field to use in conjunction with the electromagnetic "reaction bars", the HST will have difficulty in aiming the telescope. Use of the SST (shuttle) to repair/upgrade the gyros and provide a gentle orbital "nudge" is now out of the question. If it cannot stay in place and function, then it has to be de-orbitted. Any idea regardig an "interstellar launch" will vastly exceed the design parameters of the telescope, and will fail.
That said, I have no doubt that the George W. Bush administration will be remembered as much for its anti-science agenda as much as its pro-war agenda. The HST will be sorely missed, as its proposed replacements can never provide the same level of science, by design.
The truly ugly side of this argument has not been addressed. If the viability and cheap availability of cold fusion technology should happen tomorrow, and all coal and oil and nuclear power plants were shut down the very next day, the atmospheric pollution would start clearing up right away. The coal and oil power plants could be safely decommissioned, cut up, and sold for the scrap metal. Nuclear power plants are an entirely different issue -- the fuel (working and spent), the core, and all of the primary cooling system will have to be stored in casks that can be guaranteed to be leak-proof for 10's of thousands of years. The secondary cooling system, turbines, buildings, and soil will have to be placed in casks that can be guaranteed to be leak-proof for only thousands of years.
No nuclear TCO study (AFAIK) has ever projected manpower and technology costs for maintaining these radioactive casks for the next thousand years, let alone 10's of thousands of years. Such an honest study would, in effect, shut down all nuclear (barring military) programs world- wide, because those costs cannot be reliably calculated. Technological advances, let alone manpower/robotics advances cannot be projected reliably 100 years out, let alone 50 thousand. Any attitude of "ignore the problem if you can't calculate the solution" is the height of folly.
A modified Toyota Prius that can attain 180 MPG of gasoline is a good short term solution. The Bush administration's embrace of hydrogen technology essentially equates to the widespread adoption (long term) of nuclear power as its source -- any reliance upon fossil fuels/natural gas as a hydrogen source is not sustainable. It would be difficult to accept a new religion based upon the GOP's "compassionate conservative" agenda for a priesthood that monitors radioactive dumps for the next 50 thousand years.
The solution to every Defense Department effort to get more bang for the buck -- outsourcing! We can always rely upon the Chinese and the Indians (and whoever comes cheapest next) for the core R&D in CS and IT we will need, right?
The DoD has been in love with outsourcing since before some Pentagon stuffed shirts decided to buy uniforms (berets) from the PRC. For example:
(a) they are having problems getting enough new USA-borne recruits -- solution (1) is to raise enlistment bonuses and pay (too much $$$); while solution (2) is to enlist more illegal aliens.
(b) they are having problems retaining enough experienced air crews (in spite of the current recession in commercial air service) -- solution (1) is to raise re-enlistment bonuses; solution (2) is to pour money into UAVs and keep the pilots on the ground (controlled from anywhere).
In the Dubya/Rumsfeld world, outsourcing is the answer to all labor/union/manpower issues. The increase in the number of foreigners in our military (, and whatever security risks that may entail,) is less of an issue than short term costs.
Someone should remind our leadership that the Roman Empire ultimately failed because they also outsourced their military - a military that, in the end, they could not trust to protect the homeland.
The TSA may make clothing a forbidden item in the next round or security crackdowns, so all will be dressed in those drafty paper hospital gowns, and no pocket for the ticket or passport.
The government might just as well add some biometric information (fingerprint & DNA), digitally sign the data, and embed a duplicate of the passport RFID in the passport-holders body. The DHS is already doing this for access to restricted security computer systems, so why the hell not for the travelling public?
I understand that full-body tin foil clothing may be (just maybe) all the rage next year (or at least some type of stylish faraday cage). This also fits in with my earlier presumption that drafty paper hospital gowns will be required before boarding commercial aircraft...
Alan Cox might not have something sinister planned for Linus, but you can believe that one or two aphabet soup government agencies (and at least one mega-corporation (cough*MSFTcough*)) might have such contingency plans.
No single corporation, that draws in over $30B USD per year, has more to fear from the F/OSS movement than MSFT. And as one of the bigger IT players in the USA's GNP (and with potential stranglehold on the fortune & future of many foreign governments & corporations), America's current regime in power might want to "assist".
Just how many security holes have been put in (or not fixed in) MSFT OSes that the US govt. is privy to? Countries and big companies that get to see MSFT OS source code also sign NDAs -- but sometimes actions speak louder than words. How long did it take for the PRC to announce their very own GNU/linux distribution after having seen MSFT OS source code?
If the hard disk is totally erased, then there can be no chance of re-installing the OS it shipped with, since nearly all hardware vendors now use a "hidden partition" for their MSFT OS distribution. Sounds like a terrific way for MSFT to generate even more revenue, by selling extra copies of MSFT's OS.
Of course, this is the perfect preparation for the installation of an alternative (and more secure) OS. Somehow, I don't think that this scenario is exactly what MSFT had in mind.
OTOH, putting any unpatched MSFT computer on the internet (even for security updates) is a damn fine way for that fresh new OS installation to become compromised. What good is internet-based application servers and data storage when you are running a MSFT-based OS on your "thin client".
Relying on MSFT for security is like relying on premature withdrawl for contraception - and the results are nearly the same (you're f*cked!".
The good old USA has been busy changing OP (other people's) governments they don't like for at least a century. Ideology is sometimes the impetus, but often it is nationalist commercial interests, be it a threat to "nationalize" bananna plantations, building canals across Central America, keeping a competing foreign power out of the hemispere, or trying to control who is selling whatever (oil) resource to some other country/commercial interest.
Only this time around, a foreign power (SA) has interceded in the affairs of the United States, to the benefit of a specific (current regime) interest group. The tipping point was 9-11-2001. Without that tragic event, the current regime would never have had their political agenda succeed, and Dubya would have been yet another no-name one term president. Instead, we have the current situation, which can best be described as a quasi-police state, reinforced by government propaganda at every level of media access.
Iraq's non-existent WMD was a "crisis", tax cuts and tax reform welfare for corporations was a "crisis", lack of wage competition with third world countries was a "crisis", and now Social Security is a "crisis". Terrorism is a "crisis", except when it comes to protecting our borders, seaports, and air cargo, at which point, wage competition with 3rd world countries takes precedence, and cheap imported goods takes a precedence. North Korean nuclear-tipped ballistic missles are a "crisis" (hence our new non-working Star Wars program), but smuggling a dirty bomb/nuke into the country by terrorists is not a "crisis", hence, we still have open borders (for all that cheap imported labor.
The moment that Dubya spoke out about his amnesty program for the 28 million illegal aliens in this country, and then about paying social security benefits to illegal aliens, and resistance to better border security, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the entire issue about terrorists and terror "threat levels" and our reasons for the preemptive war in Iraq were all bullshit. Just like the "non-crisis" in Medicare brought about by the Prescription Drug Plan, versus the "crisis" in Social Security, which will be bank- rupted at an even faster rate with Dubya's "plan".
The revolution is already here, the neo-cons already won the revolution, and it is only a matter of how the "spoils of war" are divided up amongst the "friends of the revolution". The era of populist democracy is over, and the era of Corporate National Socialism has arrived.
"rm -rf *" isn't good enough, and it's way too late for ">/dev/null". Maybe thermite charges in amongst the hard disks would have been an answer. It certainly would buy a longish stay at Camp X-Ray (but that sure beats a one-way ticket on an Argentine military aircraft over the south Atlantic).
The US government also got heavily involved in local politics in Central America when the French failed in their attempt to build a canal. The Columbian government wasn't interested in a canal, or the "benefits" such a canal would "derive" to Columbia, so the US government backed a rebel faction. A new government and country was then recognised, a long term contract signed, and the canal contruction began. Thus was the birth of the country of Panama.
Former President Carter agreed to give up the Canal Zone, which raised his (and USA) credibility in Latin America. It took a couple more Republican regimes in the USA (Reagan's intervention in Panama to arrest Noriega, and Dubya's coup attempt in Venezuela against Chavez) to finally re-establish the USA as the 800 pound gorilla in the Western Hemisphere again. Not really too big a surprise that Panama now embraces the Communist Chinese, who have established naval facilities at both ends of the Panama Canal, or that Brasil would want to force out that other bastion of USA imperialism, MSFT, the other 800 pound gorilla.
The only problem I have with the case that you make for Dubya's treason: it doesn't go nearly far enough.
The two biggest state sponsers of terrorism, and the spread of WMD, are Pakistan AND Saudi Arabia. Pakistan could not have bankrolled their nuclear program by themselves: the Saudis have been behind the Pakistani's "Islamic" bomb for decades.
If you study the evolution of the USA's wartime OSS into the CIA, you will appreciate the Saudi Arabian duplicity regarding al-Queda. Everywhere that you find Saudi oil money being plowed into "charities" like mosque building, supporting Islamic schools, etc., you will find Wahhabist fundamentalists and al-Queda. During the Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, the base of al-Queda was created, and with the explicit assistance of the USA's CIA. The ramp-up of USA's military and intelligence assistance to the Saudis was in direct correlation to the Soviet Union's regional aspirations. Al-Queda IS the quasi-secret military arm of the Saudi Arabian government. The public break between the royal family and
Osama bin Laden was little more than a method of distancing themselves from the government. The correct term is "plausible deniability".
The entire al-Queda terror operation within the USA has been aided by factions within the USA's government, including: (1) Dept.of State "VISA Express" program (2) Riggs Bank/Saudi Embassy slush fund (3) Repatriation of Saudi nationals after 9-11 (4) Coverup of Saudi ties to WTC financial groups.
I find it remarkable that Dubya can get away with the abridgement of the US Bill of Rights for "national security" reasons, all while leaving US borders insecure, seaport container cargo largely uninspected, and air cargo unsecured. All while the current regime engages in a massive propaganda campaign for (a) the Iraqi war (WMD &
nukes & terrorist ties), (b) propaganda for the massive tax cuts and corporate welfare "reforms", (c) propaganda for the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (whose costs have doubled in 1 year), and now (d) for the Social Security "crisis" and how to "avert disaster".
The neo-cons have been very busy trying to bankrupt the US Treasury into forcing their elimination of 75 years of populist social safety net. They could never have been successful with any of these radical neo-con agendas without the paradigm shift provided by the attacks of 9-11-2001. 3-1/2 years later, and the USA government has come no closer to solving the "anthrax letters" attacks, except for tracing the anthrax DNA directly back to the US Army's bioweapons center
at Ft. Dettrick.
Looking at it another way, one conservative religious fundamentalist regime (Saudi Arabia) has helped their allies in the Bush "dynasty" to create another conservative religious fundamentalist government take root (USA), and turned what would have been in the next decade a powerful and secular government that would have opposed their goal of hegenomy in the Middle East into an ally.
NASA-Houston called, and they want several more metric tons of the fake moon dust they have been using since the 1960's. (Oh, wait. That happened.)
Fake photography has advanced by light years (bad pun intended) with the advances in CG, so the next round of Moon landings/walks will be much more realistic. No doubt the bulk of the taxpayers money back then actually went into the secret (okay, not so secret) war in Cambodia and Laos. But hey, all this money goes into the same huge military-industrial complex pot-of-gold anyway, so what's the difference?
Well, you can be certain that that policy will not be allowed to continue - thanks for pointing that out to the TSA.
In the past, the TSA has allowed passengers to carry butane lighters on-board planes, as well as books of matches. Someone pointed out that if the British "shoe-bomber" had had the number of butane lighters allowed, that plane would never have made it across the Atlantic Ocean. That policy has been changed.
The Dubya regime has been far too busy trying to convince the public that they are more secure now, rather than doing what it really takes to do so. No doubt, the TSA has a plan drawn up for air passengers to disrobe and don paper hospital gowns and slippers, just for added "security". All this while air cargo goes largely unchecked, seaports go largely unchecked, borders remain porous, and none of the airport ground crews pass through the same security measures as the passengers.
I am not impressed by the PR campaign that passes for genuine security improvements. It's called "feel good" politics, and it little more than a soap bubble in the wind. But when the terrorists do strike again, the current regime will claim that they have done everything in their power to avert the disaster. (NOT!)
Slashdot Mirror
Imagine an autonomous beowolf cluster of these.
It would bring an entirely new level to the
quality of trap/skeet shotgun competition.
I, for one, can hardly wait...
IPTV may not be on hold in the "Old World", but
it sure as heck is on hold out here in the "New
World", at least in the USA.
The hold-up in the USA is not "content", because
IPTV can be organized to give all the major
content providers their share of the cash "pie".
The hold-up in the USA is the widespread
availability of broadband internet service --
without that broadband "pipe", available content
is meaningless. The worst thing that could have
happened for the widespread availability of those
"fat pipes" was the break-up of AT&T (Ma Bell)
before their national monopoly went digital/fiber.
And fiber is the only way to go for the IPTV
"revolution" in the USA -- distances are too great
for reliance upon the archaic POTS copper infra-
structure for broadband service. The regional
telcos own the infrastructure, unlike many of the
broadband cable operators. And in many areas
of the USA, you cannot even get reliable dial-up
phone service -- it took a Federal mandate dictated
to a national monopoly to force telephone service
to many more rural areas. That mandate is gone;
the monolithic monopoly is gone; and the chance
for widespread adoption of broadband telco service
is also gone. Many brand new real estate developments
are being forced to do the "last mile" for broadband
service because the telcos will not. And the relaxed
regulatory structure for the regional telcos
provides no real impetus for the fabled FTTP
(Fiber To The Premises) broadband "nirvana".
Widespread broadband access such as is found in
Korea and Japan will never happen in the USA.
The telcos want increased monopoly power (and
their getting it from the FCC and the states),
but without the increased regulatory oversight
that would coerce them into providing near-
universal broadband service. It is turning into
a win-win for the telcos, and a lose-lose for the
consumers.
TV over IP is needed, if only by the telcos. Cable
already provides content, and broadband internet.
Cable companies are, as a rule, more responsive to
local/regional governments in providing service to
the broadest portion of the population -- for which
they are amply rewarded by being granted monopoly
status. The telcos are regulated by the states and
the Federal government. Ever since the breakup of
AT&T (aka Ma Bell), the regional telcos have been
more tightly regulated. The cable companies don't
seem to have much problem in adjusting their service
agreements, or of raising their rates. The only
way that the telcos can get into the same "profit"
pattern is by what they are doing now -- consolidating
the regional telcos, merging with wireless and
cell phone companies, and getting a "sweetheart"
deal from the FCC for bundling services. Only by
limiting competition (like the current spate of
state legislation regarding muni WiFi) can the telcos
approach the level of monopoly status that the
cable companies already have. The telcos cannot/
will not compete on the basis of best service at
the best price -- future FTTP is a pure BS "carrot"
they offer to their regulators as an inducement
for monopoly status. The telcos (generally) own
the infrastructure (POTS), and they will not
guarantee anything better than 24kbps (voice)
quality, regardless of distance from their COs
(Central Offices). The public (and the regulators)
are supposed to "buy" the notion that but for their
lack of monopoly status, they would be running
FTTP (Fiber To The Premises) everywhere. Be
skeptical; be very skeptical. Neither DSL nor
ADSL are much good beyond 18K feet from their
COs, but they still market the heck out of their
"broadband service" based upon crappy POTS
infrastructure. The regulators would do well to
hold the telco's proverbial feet to the fire for
providing acceptable up/down bandwidth over POTS
before granting the telcos any further monopoly
status (eg. "bundling" vs "bare" access). And
without decent broadband bandwidth based upon
the POTS they own, the telcos are putting the
cart before the horse when it comes to sinking
vast sums of money into "content" instead of
infrastructure. The telcos have a very long way
to go before IPTV becomes a realistic option.
Amen!
NASA is being pushed away from manned flight to
robotics, and from pure science to applications.
Why is this a surprise, considering that the neo-cons
and religious fundamentalists who are currently
running this country?
We "need" Star Wars to protect us from the "Axis
of Evil", we need more troops for our "war on
terror", and we "need" to eliminate the populist
social safety net (Medicare/Medicaid/SS). The
money NASA will spend on robotics technology can
be leveraged into Department of Defense programs
like "Star Wars", UAVs, and robotic "warriors".
Why else was someone pulled from the DoD "Star
Wars" program to head up NASA?
The basic presumption is (at least from the regime
currently in power) that spending on "pure science"
is "wasteful" of tax dollars (unlike the USA's
war in Iraq and the unsuccessful search for WMD).
When the Secretary of Commerce AND the head of
the Federal Reserve both agree that off-shore
out-sourcing is "good" for America, they are
basically telling the American people where their
high tech jobs (and future scientific advances)
will be coming from -- off-shore. The plug has
been pulled in the USA for scientific research;
it has been deemed more cost effective to buy it
from somewhere else.
This country will be good for only one thing when
the neo-cons are done with their grand scheme --
making war. And if we cannot get enough manpower
to fill the ranks of the military (including illegal
aliens), then we will build the robots (or buy
the imported robots) we need for that purpose.
The rest of the economy will be based upon Taco
Bells, Mickey Mouse, and Wal-Marts.
Not to quibble, but MSFT played a waiting game
in the USA -- it only took a regime change for
MSFT to be able to dictate their own punishment.
No doubt, MSFT is playing this same waiting
game in the EU.
Politicians are pretty much alike the whole
world over; money talks, and more money talks
louder. American politicians may find (to their
consternation) that they were bought far too
cheaply compared to their brethern in the EU.
Sounds like this physicist is "stringing" us along.
Until he can offer real proof, I'll stick with the
"black hole" theory. (Besides, that's the only way
my "Universal Hoover" vacuum cleaner will work!)
USPTO Patent Pending c2010
Corporations absolutely hate the Sarbanes-Oxley
law, particularly those portions that require
them to retain electronic evidence that can be
used against them later. Between MSFT's legal
shennanigans in their lawsuit with Burst, this
new regulation, as well as the new DRM initiatives
from MSFT (Palladium & patented XML), corporations
(and their legislative stooges) will effectively
have eliminated this threat to their malfeasance.
A whistleblower cannot "blow the whistle" if he
or she will not have the capability to reveal
insider documents. MSFT has gotten away with
the selective destruction of pertinant electronic
documents in court proceedings. This does not
bode well for "open democracy" either, since the
same trends are occurring within the government.
George W. Bush has not only sequestered his
prior records (Air National Guard/Governor of TX),
but has overriden the law regarding the National
Archives with an Executive Order.
As far as I am concerned, where there is smoke
there is fire. Corporations that resist storing/
archiving electronic files do have something to
hide. Governments that resist storing/archiving
public documents (or sealing them forever) also
have something to hide. There is no other real
rationale for such subversive behavior, especially
with Sarbanes-Oxley as law of the land.
Exactly! Who in their right mind would buy a
no-name computer w/linux and w/mono screen
when they can get a name brand computer w/MSFT
and w/colour screen for $1 USD less?
The Bush administration's Dept. of Justice has
announced that all is forgiven to AT&T (Ma Bell),
in keeping with the non-penalties involked against
MSFT in their anti-monopoly lawsuit.
The regional (baby) "Bell" telcos have just
announced a conference during which the telcos
are expected to plan their re-merger.
The FCC has just announced that the television
and radio media conglomerates will now be
permitted to own up to 100% of any given market.
The FCC and the FTC have just come out in a joint
declaration that dialup ISPs, WiFi-based ISPs,
and independent DSL service providers have been
issued C&D orders for their business operations.
Federal mediators are expected to offer these
independent operators up to 10 cents on the
dollar, dependent upon the number of customers
they can bring to the table.
Way to go, FCC!
Patenting the wheel would be a most excellent
idea, especially if done the Japanese way
(by also patenting all conceivable potential
uses for the patent). It is not as if the
USPTO actually bothers with "prior art"
anymore -- just have the cash on hand for
patenting the wheel and all its possible
applications.
All of this business about destroying paper-
based patents prior to their being digitized
and put into their database(s) reminds me
of the months of missing MSFT emails regarding
a lawsuit they were involved in. This is not
just stupid, it is criminally stupid. Who is
the prime contractor for the USPTO, MSFT or
perhaps EDS? WTF!
Perhaps Dubya has increased NASA funding --
but not for the repair of the HST (Hubble
Space Telescope). The real money is going
into robotics, and the very same prime
contractors that work for NASA also work
(mainly) for the Department of Defense.
Federal funds earmarked for "civilian"
robotics space missions is fungible, as is
the technology. A pretty neat way to hide
the massive increase in military spending is
to spend NASA money on technology that will
transfer to the military. It is no mere
coincidence that the new head of NASA was
plucked from the Pentagon's Star Wars program.
Every Bush initiative (excepting military)
since 2001, be it national security (borders
& seaports), education (No Child Left Behind),
Medicare/Medicaid, or NASA's proverbial "Mars
Mission" have been severely underfunded mandates.
With the exceptions of warfare, and rewarding
corporate financial contributors, every other
"big Bush initiative" has been underfunded.
In nearly all instances, the states have been
required to pick up the "slack" and increase
taxes to make up for the lack of Federal funds.
Those Federral funds went into 3 years of tax
cuts and tax reform that primarily rewarded
the "fat cats" and corporations.
This new generation of robotic satellite does
not have the capabilities necessary for the
autonomous or remote repair of the HST (neither
adaptability nor dexterity nor payload).
This next-gen NASA robotic satellite is, however,
capable of the interdiction and destruction of
OPSes (Other Peoples' Satellites), its intended
function.
Gee, why is this so significant?
Well, try tying a few news articles together.
(a) Bush revives the Star Wars program
(b) Bush cuts NASA spending (HST)
(c) NASA invests in robotic satellites
(d) Bush appoints Star Wars exec to head NASA
(e) NASA announces first robotic satellite
Anyone that cannot add these up and come up
with the correct answer -- the USA is fully
engaged in the militarization of space, is one
can short of a six-pack.
Your words have the ring of truth.
Unfortunately, the USA has been "blessed" with
the regime currently in power, which has turned
government secrecy into high art. When the
Executive branch routinely "thumbs it nose" at
both the Legislative branch AND the Judicial
branch, and engages in the wholesale generation
of propaganda (even from government agencies) in
order to attempt to sway public opinion, I would
say that that precious "middle ground" is fast
disappearing from beneath the feet of the governed.
The HST's orbit was originally determined by
(1) ease of servicing, and (2) use of Earth's
magnetic field.
The Hubble Space Telescope uses solar panels,
electromagnetic "reaction bars", and gyroscopes
to maintain and/or alter the direction the
telescope is pointing in, as well as maintaining
proper alignment of the solar panels. Failure
of the gyroscopes has been a prominent/recurring
problem, which affects the science mission and
flight safety. Sitting at the edge of Earth's
atmosphere has eventually altered the HST's
orbital stability. Boosting the orbit away from
Earth's gravity also takes it farther away from
Earth's magnetic field. With less of Earth's
magnetic field to use in conjunction with the
electromagnetic "reaction bars", the HST will
have difficulty in aiming the telescope. Use of
the SST (shuttle) to repair/upgrade the gyros
and provide a gentle orbital "nudge" is now out
of the question. If it cannot stay in place and
function, then it has to be de-orbitted. Any
idea regardig an "interstellar launch" will vastly
exceed the design parameters of the telescope, and
will fail.
That said, I have no doubt that the George W. Bush
administration will be remembered as much for its
anti-science agenda as much as its pro-war agenda.
The HST will be sorely missed, as its proposed
replacements can never provide the same level of
science, by design.
The truly ugly side of this argument has not
been addressed. If the viability and cheap
availability of cold fusion technology should
happen tomorrow, and all coal and oil and nuclear
power plants were shut down the very next day,
the atmospheric pollution would start clearing
up right away. The coal and oil power plants
could be safely decommissioned, cut up, and sold
for the scrap metal. Nuclear power plants are
an entirely different issue -- the fuel (working
and spent), the core, and all of the primary
cooling system will have to be stored in casks
that can be guaranteed to be leak-proof for 10's
of thousands of years. The secondary cooling
system, turbines, buildings, and soil will have
to be placed in casks that can be guaranteed to
be leak-proof for only thousands of years.
No nuclear TCO study (AFAIK) has ever projected
manpower and technology costs for maintaining
these radioactive casks for the next thousand
years, let alone 10's of thousands of years.
Such an honest study would, in effect, shut down
all nuclear (barring military) programs world-
wide, because those costs cannot be reliably
calculated. Technological advances, let alone
manpower/robotics advances cannot be projected
reliably 100 years out, let alone 50 thousand.
Any attitude of "ignore the problem if you can't
calculate the solution" is the height of folly.
A modified Toyota Prius that can attain 180 MPG
of gasoline is a good short term solution. The
Bush administration's embrace of hydrogen technology
essentially equates to the widespread adoption
(long term) of nuclear power as its source --
any reliance upon fossil fuels/natural gas as
a hydrogen source is not sustainable. It would
be difficult to accept a new religion based upon
the GOP's "compassionate conservative" agenda
for a priesthood that monitors radioactive dumps
for the next 50 thousand years.
The solution to every Defense Department effort
to get more bang for the buck -- outsourcing!
We can always rely upon the Chinese and the
Indians (and whoever comes cheapest next) for
the core R&D in CS and IT we will need, right?
The DoD has been in love with outsourcing since
before some Pentagon stuffed shirts decided to
buy uniforms (berets) from the PRC. For example:
(a) they are having problems getting enough
new USA-borne recruits -- solution (1) is to
raise enlistment bonuses and pay (too much $$$);
while solution (2) is to enlist more illegal
aliens.
(b) they are having problems retaining enough
experienced air crews (in spite of the current
recession in commercial air service) -- solution
(1) is to raise re-enlistment bonuses; solution
(2) is to pour money into UAVs and keep the
pilots on the ground (controlled from anywhere).
In the Dubya/Rumsfeld world, outsourcing is the
answer to all labor/union/manpower issues. The
increase in the number of foreigners in our military
(, and whatever security risks that may entail,)
is less of an issue than short term costs.
Someone should remind our leadership that the
Roman Empire ultimately failed because they
also outsourced their military - a military
that, in the end, they could not trust to
protect the homeland.
Sure, why worry.
The TSA may make clothing a forbidden item in
the next round or security crackdowns, so all
will be dressed in those drafty paper hospital
gowns, and no pocket for the ticket or passport.
The government might just as well add some
biometric information (fingerprint & DNA),
digitally sign the data, and embed a duplicate
of the passport RFID in the passport-holders
body. The DHS is already doing this for access
to restricted security computer systems, so why
the hell not for the travelling public?
I understand that full-body tin foil clothing
may be (just maybe) all the rage next year (or
at least some type of stylish faraday cage).
This also fits in with my earlier presumption
that drafty paper hospital gowns will be required
before boarding commercial aircraft...
Alan Cox might not have something sinister planned
for Linus, but you can believe that one or two
aphabet soup government agencies (and at least
one mega-corporation (cough*MSFTcough*)) might
have such contingency plans.
No single corporation, that draws in over $30B
USD per year, has more to fear from the F/OSS
movement than MSFT. And as one of the bigger
IT players in the USA's GNP (and with potential
stranglehold on the fortune & future of many
foreign governments & corporations), America's
current regime in power might want to "assist".
Just how many security holes have been put in
(or not fixed in) MSFT OSes that the US govt.
is privy to? Countries and big companies that
get to see MSFT OS source code also sign NDAs --
but sometimes actions speak louder than words.
How long did it take for the PRC to announce their
very own GNU/linux distribution after having seen
MSFT OS source code?
If the hard disk is totally erased, then there
can be no chance of re-installing the OS it
shipped with, since nearly all hardware vendors
now use a "hidden partition" for their MSFT OS
distribution. Sounds like a terrific way for
MSFT to generate even more revenue, by selling
extra copies of MSFT's OS.
Of course, this is the perfect preparation for
the installation of an alternative (and more
secure) OS. Somehow, I don't think that this
scenario is exactly what MSFT had in mind.
OTOH, putting any unpatched MSFT computer on the
internet (even for security updates) is a damn
fine way for that fresh new OS installation to
become compromised. What good is internet-based
application servers and data storage when you
are running a MSFT-based OS on your "thin client".
Relying on MSFT for security is like relying on
premature withdrawl for contraception - and the
results are nearly the same (you're f*cked!".
Or, rather, only if it's your government.
/dev/null". Maybe thermite charges
The good old USA has been busy changing
OP (other people's) governments they don't
like for at least a century. Ideology is
sometimes the impetus, but often it is
nationalist commercial interests, be it
a threat to "nationalize" bananna plantations,
building canals across Central America,
keeping a competing foreign power out of
the hemispere, or trying to control who is
selling whatever (oil) resource to some other
country/commercial interest.
Only this time around, a foreign power (SA) has
interceded in the affairs of the United States,
to the benefit of a specific (current regime)
interest group. The tipping point was 9-11-2001.
Without that tragic event, the current regime
would never have had their political agenda
succeed, and Dubya would have been yet another
no-name one term president. Instead, we have
the current situation, which can best be described
as a quasi-police state, reinforced by government
propaganda at every level of media access.
Iraq's non-existent WMD was a "crisis", tax cuts
and tax reform welfare for corporations was a
"crisis", lack of wage competition with third
world countries was a "crisis", and now Social
Security is a "crisis". Terrorism is a "crisis",
except when it comes to protecting our borders,
seaports, and air cargo, at which point, wage
competition with 3rd world countries takes
precedence, and cheap imported goods takes
a precedence. North Korean nuclear-tipped
ballistic missles are a "crisis" (hence our new
non-working Star Wars program), but smuggling
a dirty bomb/nuke into the country by terrorists
is not a "crisis", hence, we still have open
borders (for all that cheap imported labor.
The moment that Dubya spoke out about his amnesty
program for the 28 million illegal aliens in this
country, and then about paying social security
benefits to illegal aliens, and resistance to
better border security, I knew beyond a shadow
of a doubt that the entire issue about terrorists
and terror "threat levels" and our reasons for
the preemptive war in Iraq were all bullshit.
Just like the "non-crisis" in Medicare brought
about by the Prescription Drug Plan, versus the
"crisis" in Social Security, which will be bank-
rupted at an even faster rate with Dubya's "plan".
The revolution is already here, the neo-cons
already won the revolution, and it is only a
matter of how the "spoils of war" are divided
up amongst the "friends of the revolution". The
era of populist democracy is over, and the era
of Corporate National Socialism has arrived.
"rm -rf *" isn't good enough, and it's way too
late for ">
in amongst the hard disks would have been an
answer. It certainly would buy a longish stay
at Camp X-Ray (but that sure beats a one-way
ticket on an Argentine military aircraft over
the south Atlantic).
The US government also got heavily involved in
local politics in Central America when the French
failed in their attempt to build a canal. The
Columbian government wasn't interested in a canal,
or the "benefits" such a canal would "derive" to
Columbia, so the US government backed a rebel
faction. A new government and country was then
recognised, a long term contract signed, and the
canal contruction began. Thus was the birth of
the country of Panama.
Former President Carter agreed to give up the
Canal Zone, which raised his (and USA) credibility
in Latin America. It took a couple more Republican
regimes in the USA (Reagan's intervention in
Panama to arrest Noriega, and Dubya's coup attempt
in Venezuela against Chavez) to finally re-establish
the USA as the 800 pound gorilla in the Western
Hemisphere again. Not really too big a surprise that
Panama now embraces the Communist Chinese, who have
established naval facilities at both ends of the
Panama Canal, or that Brasil would want to force
out that other bastion of USA imperialism, MSFT,
the other 800 pound gorilla.
The only problem I have with the case that you
make for Dubya's treason: it doesn't go nearly
far enough.
The two biggest state sponsers of terrorism, and
the spread of WMD, are Pakistan AND Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan could not have bankrolled their nuclear
program by themselves: the Saudis have been behind
the Pakistani's "Islamic" bomb for decades.
If you study the evolution of the USA's wartime
OSS into the CIA, you will appreciate the Saudi
Arabian duplicity regarding al-Queda. Everywhere
that you find Saudi oil money being plowed into
"charities" like mosque building, supporting
Islamic schools, etc., you will find Wahhabist
fundamentalists and al-Queda. During the Soviet
invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, the base
of al-Queda was created, and with the explicit
assistance of the USA's CIA. The ramp-up of USA's
military and intelligence assistance to the Saudis
was in direct correlation to the Soviet Union's
regional aspirations. Al-Queda IS the quasi-secret
military arm of the Saudi Arabian government.
The public break between the royal family and
Osama bin Laden was little more than a method
of distancing themselves from the government.
The correct term is "plausible deniability".
The entire al-Queda terror operation within the
USA has been aided by factions within the USA's
government, including:
(1) Dept.of State "VISA Express" program
(2) Riggs Bank/Saudi Embassy slush fund
(3) Repatriation of Saudi nationals after 9-11
(4) Coverup of Saudi ties to WTC financial groups.
I find it remarkable that Dubya can get away with
the abridgement of the US Bill of Rights for
"national security" reasons, all while leaving
US borders insecure, seaport container cargo
largely uninspected, and air cargo unsecured.
All while the current regime engages in a massive
propaganda campaign for (a) the Iraqi war (WMD &
nukes & terrorist ties), (b) propaganda for the
massive tax cuts and corporate welfare "reforms",
(c) propaganda for the Medicare Prescription
Drug Plan (whose costs have doubled in 1 year),
and now (d) for the Social Security "crisis" and
how to "avert disaster".
The neo-cons have been very busy trying to bankrupt
the US Treasury into forcing their elimination
of 75 years of populist social safety net.
They could never have been successful with any
of these radical neo-con agendas without the paradigm
shift provided by the attacks of 9-11-2001.
3-1/2 years later, and the USA government
has come no closer to solving the "anthrax letters"
attacks, except for tracing the anthrax DNA directly
back to the US Army's bioweapons center
at Ft. Dettrick.
Looking at it another way, one conservative
religious fundamentalist regime (Saudi Arabia)
has helped their allies in the Bush "dynasty"
to create another conservative religious
fundamentalist government take root (USA),
and turned what would have been in the next
decade a powerful and secular government that
would have opposed their goal of hegenomy in
the Middle East into an ally.
NASA-Houston called, and they want several more
metric tons of the fake moon dust they have been
using since the 1960's. (Oh, wait. That happened.)
Fake photography has advanced by light years (bad
pun intended) with the advances in CG, so the
next round of Moon landings/walks will be much
more realistic. No doubt the bulk of the taxpayers
money back then actually went into the secret
(okay, not so secret) war in Cambodia and Laos.
But hey, all this money goes into the same huge
military-industrial complex pot-of-gold anyway,
so what's the difference?
Well, you can be certain that that policy will
not be allowed to continue - thanks for pointing
that out to the TSA.
In the past, the TSA has allowed passengers to
carry butane lighters on-board planes, as well
as books of matches. Someone pointed out that
if the British "shoe-bomber" had had the number
of butane lighters allowed, that plane would
never have made it across the Atlantic Ocean.
That policy has been changed.
The Dubya regime has been far too busy trying to
convince the public that they are more secure now,
rather than doing what it really takes to do so.
No doubt, the TSA has a plan drawn up for air
passengers to disrobe and don paper hospital gowns
and slippers, just for added "security". All this
while air cargo goes largely unchecked, seaports
go largely unchecked, borders remain porous, and
none of the airport ground crews pass through the
same security measures as the passengers.
I am not impressed by the PR campaign that passes
for genuine security improvements. It's called
"feel good" politics, and it little more than a
soap bubble in the wind. But when the terrorists
do strike again, the current regime will claim
that they have done everything in their power
to avert the disaster. (NOT!)