Not quite:) They are used increasingly in disarming suicide bombers. They have a loud-speaker and mic on the front, so they can give directions to people near the robot ("lift your shirt", "turn around", etc.).
Though I'm sure some clown's thought about using them to pick up chicks:-P
Then maybe the US should stop having these stupid "vote for 4,000 different positions on the same day". Democracy is IMPORTANT. Shoving tens of votes on the same ballot is trivialising it. It's adding extra complexity to something that should be as simple as possible. 30 seats? Have 30 elections. 15 at the most. If democracy is so important to everyone, everyone should DEMAND it be carried out correctly. A single question asked about the process is one question too many. Unless it's transparent, it's not democratic.
I'm all for paper voting. In Britain, one of our areas gets its votes counted in under an hour. Sure, it's not massive, but then there's no reason their methods can't be used in most other places.
If the American democratic practice is harmful to the democratic process, as it clearly is, then the system should be changed. It's that simple.
Unless you can verify the COUNTING machine counted your vote properly, having the right thing on your ballot means precisely nothing. That's the issue - closed-source vote counting. That's where the real problems are.
There ARE laws governing that already. The powers that be in the various states simply don't enforce it. There are certifications of hardware and software in most places that use BBV, and if the hardware/software used in the election isn't the certified versions, all hell is supposed to break loose. Guess what? Uncertified hardware/software WAS used in the last election, and no-one gave a damn.
America has lost its passion for democracy. Everyone treats it like the freakin' superbowl. Just somethin' else to watch on TV and talk about. Take it to the streets. Demand democracy.
Re:Does /. want endorsements from the NY Times?
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Buggy Voting Machines
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He's the sort of guy I could drink a beer with. That's the single quality I look for in picking who I'd want to be the leader of the free world. Beer-drinking.
Your language is playing down the dramatic differences encountered. We're talking 70% democrats voting for Bush in some areas. All sorts of statistics that scream "LOOK AT ME!" are present, but only in areas that use BBV. In others, the exit polls matched the actual tabulations well within the margin of error.
If America loves democracy so much, it should be up in arms about this. Check out Ukraine - they know how to get things done. They see election fraud, they get uppity. America sees election fraud, they turn on the TV and forget it. Apathy kills.
Obviously means something different to this guy. The robots used by bomb disposal crews do a LOT more than just drive around dropping explosives. They have lots of camera equipment, audio in/out, and a mechanical arm for picking up objects, etc. They also have MUCH better propulsion, as they use tracks and not pneumatic tires. They don't just blow something up, but allow the crews to physically examine the suspect device remotely.
Saying they do the same thing is like saying a red wagon does the same thing as a Challenger MkII tank.
It's just like the guns, dude. Once someone gets one, everyone needs one to keep up. Where it ends is anyone's guess. Not having them in the first place is the only answer.
If you have that much trouble with a PC, go back to a mac - it might just save your life. Also, next time you try and tie your shoelaces, slow down and take it easy - by the sound of things, you might throttle yourself and those near you.
Seriously, windows isn't that hard to use. It's not hard to keep it clean, to keep it crash-free. First of all, your drivers are most likely screwed. Unlike Macs, PCs have a LOT more hardware to support, so drivers come in all shapes and sizes. Microsoft certifies drivers for use with Windows, so only get WHQL-certified versions - they won't crash.
As for the OS being clunky as hell - you can make XP look EXACTLY the same as OSX. Clicking "start" to close the computer? Only someone pushing an agenda can turn that into a valid criticism of an operating system. I could argue the use of happy Macs on OSX is silly, as using OSX is anything but a happy experience. See? It's easy to be a dick.
Monitoring your computer for malware does NOT slow it down enough for you to notice. You're talking about a 3.4ghz PC. It can monitor processes without you even noticing.
I'd cry "fanboy" at this point, but I fear you'd fall off your chair in rage, and choke to death on your mouse or something.
Yes, and nowhere in my post did I state otherwise. I was referring to the outrage on this site towards Nokia's smart batteries, citing exploding 3rd-party batteries as an example.
I'm well aware it can happen to any batteries (and Kyocera is by no means a major player in the cellphone market;))
It's funny, as most people here get all pissy when Nokia introduces protection for their phones by allowing nokia-only batteries to be used. Guess what? It's for this exact thing. Nokia can't rate every battery each company comes out with for their phones, yet if one blows up, it's the phone manufacturer (not the battery manufacturer) who gets the bad press. It's protecting their business, pure and simple.:)
Art is an expression of emotion. Forgers don't express themselves. Your analogy also says that writing is a farce, as anyone can copy out what someone else wrote, ignoring the fact that coming up with the story is the hard part.
Art isn't about technical perfection, but emotion. Copying art has no emotion, creating art does.
No, they often force people to use OLD technology to not interfere with those long-time users. That's the problem. This new method means those with market drive will determine the usage of frequencies. Therefor, if everyone and their dog wants to use a newfangled type of communicator, the sheer financial weight of those people will mean frequencies become available to the technology. No-one's going to stop using new technology in case one Granny in deepest, darkest Wales gets interference on Channel 5 TV. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing - that will be determined in the small print.
No, you seem to be confusing the crux of an argument, with a comparison. You see, over here, we have actual, quantifiable selling points to ideas. We have figures, statistics, projections, forecasts, whatever. In the states, someone just says something overly emotive or patriotic, and everyone falls in line for fear of being branded a terrorist/communist/liberal/whatever. That's the massive difference ('patriot' act, remember? what a joke).
I mean, I try to be gracious about this, but there is nothing in your post that leads me to believe you know ANYTHING about this topic. For instance, can you tell me what "harebrained political ideas" were sold solely on the notion that "the US can't do this". I'd really love to hear that.
Please, stratjakt, read something. Europe isn't as insecure as America, so we aren't constantly striving to prove ourselves.
The Mac plane, for most, is uncrashable because they can't even get it into the air. I have a feeling this analogy could go on for a while:)
How on earth is that an ad-hominem attack? I asked you a serious question. I didn't attack YOU. sheesh.
I can see this debate is pointless if you're going to go off on a tangent and accuse me of allsorts:)
My basic understanding of this is fine - noobs shouldn't use IE without protection, as they can't be trusted. However, when said browser is protected, it's fine for use by ANYONE. There.:)
Did you actually listen to what I wrote? I don't test websites personally - I have QA guys for that. They test them on every browser we can get our hands on.
I learned HTML years and years ago. I worked at a great dotcom company, where we stuck to HTML3 compliance, even when HTML4 was available. My HTML coding is rock-solid, as I rely on tried-and-tested methods for graphical placement, not just CSS. That means I have an array of tools that work cross-browser. I could suggest your approach is amateurish, but then that would be rude.
I hear what you're saying, but then you might as well condemn air travel, as a pilot could crash his aircraft on purpose. If you run IE unprotected and sans firewall, you're going to get trouble. Everyone knows that.
Where do you go on the net? I've used IE ever since Netscape went shit, and have yet to have these spyware problems I'm told about. JUST CLICK NO, PEOPLE!:)
Slashdot Mirror
Though I'm sure some clown's thought about using them to pick up chicks :-P
I'm all for paper voting. In Britain, one of our areas gets its votes counted in under an hour. Sure, it's not massive, but then there's no reason their methods can't be used in most other places.
If the American democratic practice is harmful to the democratic process, as it clearly is, then the system should be changed. It's that simple.
Unless you can verify the COUNTING machine counted your vote properly, having the right thing on your ballot means precisely nothing. That's the issue - closed-source vote counting. That's where the real problems are.
America has lost its passion for democracy. Everyone treats it like the freakin' superbowl. Just somethin' else to watch on TV and talk about. Take it to the streets. Demand democracy.
You get what you deserve, America :)
If America loves democracy so much, it should be up in arms about this. Check out Ukraine - they know how to get things done. They see election fraud, they get uppity. America sees election fraud, they turn on the TV and forget it. Apathy kills.
Saying they do the same thing is like saying a red wagon does the same thing as a Challenger MkII tank.
My post was more of a commentary on the general slashdot attitude, not an attack on your good self :)
It's just like the guns, dude. Once someone gets one, everyone needs one to keep up. Where it ends is anyone's guess. Not having them in the first place is the only answer.
Seriously, windows isn't that hard to use. It's not hard to keep it clean, to keep it crash-free. First of all, your drivers are most likely screwed. Unlike Macs, PCs have a LOT more hardware to support, so drivers come in all shapes and sizes. Microsoft certifies drivers for use with Windows, so only get WHQL-certified versions - they won't crash.
As for the OS being clunky as hell - you can make XP look EXACTLY the same as OSX. Clicking "start" to close the computer? Only someone pushing an agenda can turn that into a valid criticism of an operating system. I could argue the use of happy Macs on OSX is silly, as using OSX is anything but a happy experience. See? It's easy to be a dick.
Monitoring your computer for malware does NOT slow it down enough for you to notice. You're talking about a 3.4ghz PC. It can monitor processes without you even noticing.
I'd cry "fanboy" at this point, but I fear you'd fall off your chair in rage, and choke to death on your mouse or something.
peace.
I'm well aware it can happen to any batteries (and Kyocera is by no means a major player in the cellphone market ;))
No, just throttle the speed to a few K a second for non-dijjer clients. No need to be a nazi about it. :)
Limewire has too many problems - its speed is ridiculous. Java doesn't make a p2p app crap automatically - Azureus is proof of that.
It's also very easy to share your own stuff to people you choose in bittorrent, which is a very powerful feature.
I'm not trying to rain on your parade, just offer a counter-point to your opinion ;)
I get too emotional talking about iptables. I don't know why.
It's funny, as most people here get all pissy when Nokia introduces protection for their phones by allowing nokia-only batteries to be used. Guess what? It's for this exact thing. Nokia can't rate every battery each company comes out with for their phones, yet if one blows up, it's the phone manufacturer (not the battery manufacturer) who gets the bad press. It's protecting their business, pure and simple. :)
Art is an expression of emotion. Forgers don't express themselves. Your analogy also says that writing is a farce, as anyone can copy out what someone else wrote, ignoring the fact that coming up with the story is the hard part.
Art isn't about technical perfection, but emotion. Copying art has no emotion, creating art does.
No, they often force people to use OLD technology to not interfere with those long-time users. That's the problem. This new method means those with market drive will determine the usage of frequencies. Therefor, if everyone and their dog wants to use a newfangled type of communicator, the sheer financial weight of those people will mean frequencies become available to the technology. No-one's going to stop using new technology in case one Granny in deepest, darkest Wales gets interference on Channel 5 TV. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing - that will be determined in the small print.
I mean, I try to be gracious about this, but there is nothing in your post that leads me to believe you know ANYTHING about this topic. For instance, can you tell me what "harebrained political ideas" were sold solely on the notion that "the US can't do this". I'd really love to hear that.
Please, stratjakt, read something. Europe isn't as insecure as America, so we aren't constantly striving to prove ourselves.
What are you on? No BBC? right.
Someone voted republican... ;)
How on earth is that an ad-hominem attack? I asked you a serious question. I didn't attack YOU. sheesh.
I can see this debate is pointless if you're going to go off on a tangent and accuse me of allsorts :)
My basic understanding of this is fine - noobs shouldn't use IE without protection, as they can't be trusted. However, when said browser is protected, it's fine for use by ANYONE. There. :)
I learned HTML years and years ago. I worked at a great dotcom company, where we stuck to HTML3 compliance, even when HTML4 was available. My HTML coding is rock-solid, as I rely on tried-and-tested methods for graphical placement, not just CSS. That means I have an array of tools that work cross-browser. I could suggest your approach is amateurish, but then that would be rude.
Where do you go on the net? I've used IE ever since Netscape went shit, and have yet to have these spyware problems I'm told about. JUST CLICK NO, PEOPLE! :)
Well, I've yet to have any problems with IE mispositioning things... I guess we code differently ;)
I agree with you for the debugging - excellent, top-notch stuff. But, not too useful when you're just reading webmail or slashdot ;)