It doesn't seem from the BBC article that they did any more than throw random specs about. When is Infinimum Labs going to give us some real information about what is so far nothing but vapourware?
Now it seems that the editors can't even be bothered to try and write a proper writeup that looks good. This is supposed to be a news website, and you people have the nerve to call yourselves "editors" when you butcher writeups and skew them with your poorly-thought-out opinions.
It's too early to tell who's right yet, and I've had to resist my automatic temptation to "side with the little guy". However, at the moment, it's just been mudflinging with no proof from either side.
The computers Brain talks about do run Windows XP. I quote from the blog entry:
* Repair #1 -- summary: Mom's printer driver -- time spent: 1 hour
* Repair #2 -- summary: Random error in Window's Media Player, had to reinstall -- time spent: 20 minutes
* Repair #3 -- summary: Windows XP security updates -- time spent: 1 hour
* Repair #4 -- summary: Another Windows XP security update -- time spent: 20 minutes
* Repair #5 -- summary: Microsoft Outlook crashes about once a week, but cannot update it -- time spent (in December): 1 hour
* Repair #6 -- summary: Had to load motherboard-specific XP drivers on kids' machine -- time spent: 4 hours
* Repair #7 -- summary: First notice of PC-cillin problem (see repair #20 for final resolution) -- time spent: 5 minutes
* Repair #8 -- summary: Spam overflowed disk quota on Leigh's server -- time spent: 15 minutes
* Repair #9 -- summary: Random application crashes that we all experience -- time spent in a typical month recovering from them: 30 minutes
* Repair #10 -- summary: Removing CNET download manager from system tray -- time spent: 1 minute
* Repair #11 -- summary: Helping friend with Microsoft Word config problem -- time spent: 5 minutes
* Repair #12 -- summary: Random GigaPocket buffer errors -- time spent: 15 minutes
* Repair #13 -- summary: Weird QuickTime error dialog -- time spent: 10 minutes
* Repair #14 -- summary: Forced to upgrade MSN messenger -- time spent: 10 minutes
* Repair #15 -- summary: Leigh trapped by nested pop-up ads -- time spent: 10 minutes
* Repair #16 -- summary: Have to kill rogue IE sessions occasionally -- time spent: 2 minutes
* Repair #17 -- summary: Incessant reminders about a non-problem -- time spent: 2 minutes
* Repair #18 -- summary: Bad Cheerios game CD results in Christmas trama for Irena -- time spent: 15 minutes
* Repair #19 -- summary: Router or cable modem problems -- time spent: 10 minutes
* Repair #20 -- summary: Forced upgrade of PC-cillin and insane install process -- time spent: 1 hour
* Repair #21 -- summary: Time Warner Internet blackout -- time spent: 30 minutes (blackout lasted 8 hours)
* GRAND TOTAL TIME WASTED THIS MONTH: 11 hours, 20 minutes
Often times, low-cost, batch-produced items are made of low-cost, batch-produced components. Lower cost in electronics often means lower quality (just ask someone knowledgeable about the widely acknowledge low quality of the 555 timer chip, commonly used in cheap products) and as such you're advised to purchase products which are inexpensive but not consumer-priced.
...they're going to use software to do what should be done by hardware? Anything this important shouldn't be done by remote software; the potential for abuse or accident is too great. (Remember Therac-25?) Ideally, they should build the technology into the hardware of the planes themselves, retrofitting were necessary. And I doubt that the pilots are going to accept this change.
I think that the problem is that there are a lot of people who are hearing of the WiFi craze, hearing that it is a good idea, and then setting up these adhoc networks. The problem is, they often don't bother to read up about the potential security risks of misconfiguration and so if (when?) they mess up, there's a wide open hole right there.
I'm the call centre supervisor for a medium sized ISP in Britain (whose name I won't mention to avoid getting canned) who carry out a yearly online survey of our customers. In the last three years, the number of people who have ranked their concerns regarding spam as "high" or "significant" has actually steadily dropped, while our mail traffic has increased by about 40% year-on-year. We offer server-side filtering of spam and popups for a small fee and many are willing to pay for it. The other ISPs do the same thing, like Demon Internet, so there's little competition for this kind of thing.
The idea of social networks is just insecure from the get-go. When people are connected, there's increased potential for security risks and flaws to be exploited and to be created. It's like broadcasting your real email and IP addresses on Usenet - a bad idea. The buggy implementations are just icing on the cake.
Some interesting ideas, but not much else
on
Coalescent
·
· Score: -1, Troll
The book is pretty fascinating; Baxter draws upon the work in recent decades on self emergent order, that arises from simple rules between cellular automata. (See for example seminal work by Wolfram in the early 80s.) The gist of these is that very rudimentary rules for short range interactions between these automata can give rise to ordered phenomena over larger distances and times. This book posits such an ordering over some 1600 years, from the fall of the Roman Empire to the present time.
Baxter also seems to implicitly use work by Richard Dawkins, in "The Selfish Gene", where Dawkins argues that organisms are just the vessels by which their genes propagate in time. For the most part, this refers to nonsentient creatures. But the most provocative implication of Dawkins' work is that we too are bound by such imperatives. The plot in this book also seems to follow this thread.
The whole thing was OK, but the subplot of possible aliens in outer space seems to be quite jarring, and not well fitting, as compared to the way Baxter mixes the two narrative, from the present and the past.
I'm hoping that VoIP remains as unencumbered by foolish laws and regulations as is. With recent, pending and looming court actions this could change soon and be one of the great turning points of 2004. As is, though, I think we're in a very good situation and I hope the lawmakers keep it that way. Fingers crossed for communication technology!
Thursday, January 1, 2004 Posted: 10:16 AM EST (1516 GMT)
BOULDER, Colorado (AP) -- In a phenomenon that has scientists puzzled, the Earth is right on schedule for a fifth straight year.
Experts agree that the rate at which the Earth travels through space has slowed ever so slightly for millennia. To make the world's official time agree with where the Earth actually is in space, scientists in 1972 started adding an extra "leap second" on the last day of the year.
For 28 years, scientists repeated the procedure. But in 1999, they discovered the Earth was no longer lagging behind.
At the National Institute for Science and Technology in Boulder, spokesman Fred McGehan said most scientists agree the Earth's orbit around the sun has been gradually slowing for millennia. But he said they don't have a good explanation for why it's suddenly on schedule.
Possible explanations include the tides, weather and changes in the Earth's core, he said.
The leap second was an unexpected consequence of the 1955 invention of the atomic clock, which use the electromagnetic radiation emanated by Cesium atoms to measure time. It is extremely reliable.
Atomic-based Coordinated Universal Time was implemented in 1972, superseding the astronomically determined Greenwich Mean Time.
Leap seconds can be a big deal, affecting everything from communication, navigation and air traffic control systems to the computers that link global financial markets.
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights taken. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
It will allows us to better study the properties of intersolar and pansolar materials in high-velocity space bodies. We'll be able to gain insights into the likely composition of planets which are too far away to analyse directly, and if this works we can confirm whether or not it is actually a 'vapor' trail or some other substance. There are other, lesser implications for space travel also, but that's about the gist of it.
Slashdot Mirror
It doesn't seem from the BBC article that they did any more than throw random specs about. When is Infinimum Labs going to give us some real information about what is so far nothing but vapourware?
Now it seems that the editors can't even be bothered to try and write a proper writeup that looks good. This is supposed to be a news website, and you people have the nerve to call yourselves "editors" when you butcher writeups and skew them with your poorly-thought-out opinions.
Feh.
...by James A. C. Joyce of the GNAA. You know that phone call you got earlier today? That was me.
It's too early to tell who's right yet, and I've had to resist my automatic temptation to "side with the little guy". However, at the moment, it's just been mudflinging with no proof from either side.
Isn't recording in cinemas already illegal?
The computers Brain talks about do run Windows XP. I quote from the blog entry:
* Repair #1 -- summary: Mom's printer driver -- time spent: 1 hour
* Repair #2 -- summary: Random error in Window's Media Player, had to reinstall -- time spent: 20 minutes
* Repair #3 -- summary: Windows XP security updates -- time spent: 1 hour
* Repair #4 -- summary: Another Windows XP security update -- time spent: 20 minutes
* Repair #5 -- summary: Microsoft Outlook crashes about once a week, but cannot update it -- time spent (in December): 1 hour
* Repair #6 -- summary: Had to load motherboard-specific XP drivers on kids' machine -- time spent: 4 hours
* Repair #7 -- summary: First notice of PC-cillin problem (see repair #20 for final resolution) -- time spent: 5 minutes
* Repair #8 -- summary: Spam overflowed disk quota on Leigh's server -- time spent: 15 minutes
* Repair #9 -- summary: Random application crashes that we all experience -- time spent in a typical month recovering from them: 30 minutes
* Repair #10 -- summary: Removing CNET download manager from system tray -- time spent: 1 minute
* Repair #11 -- summary: Helping friend with Microsoft Word config problem -- time spent: 5 minutes
* Repair #12 -- summary: Random GigaPocket buffer errors -- time spent: 15 minutes
* Repair #13 -- summary: Weird QuickTime error dialog -- time spent: 10 minutes
* Repair #14 -- summary: Forced to upgrade MSN messenger -- time spent: 10 minutes
* Repair #15 -- summary: Leigh trapped by nested pop-up ads -- time spent: 10 minutes
* Repair #16 -- summary: Have to kill rogue IE sessions occasionally -- time spent: 2 minutes
* Repair #17 -- summary: Incessant reminders about a non-problem -- time spent: 2 minutes
* Repair #18 -- summary: Bad Cheerios game CD results in Christmas trama for Irena -- time spent: 15 minutes
* Repair #19 -- summary: Router or cable modem problems -- time spent: 10 minutes
* Repair #20 -- summary: Forced upgrade of PC-cillin and insane install process -- time spent: 1 hour
* Repair #21 -- summary: Time Warner Internet blackout -- time spent: 30 minutes (blackout lasted 8 hours)
* GRAND TOTAL TIME WASTED THIS MONTH: 11 hours, 20 minutes
Hmm, seems like you are the troll.
...it's a Windows XP machine.
Google cache here.
We already knew this. 'Nuff said.
Often times, low-cost, batch-produced items are made of low-cost, batch-produced components. Lower cost in electronics often means lower quality (just ask someone knowledgeable about the widely acknowledge low quality of the 555 timer chip, commonly used in cheap products) and as such you're advised to purchase products which are inexpensive but not consumer-priced.
Here's the menu on its own without frames.
...how can they actually stop someone from building this telescope in a way that violates the licence?
...they're going to use software to do what should be done by hardware? Anything this important shouldn't be done by remote software; the potential for abuse or accident is too great. (Remember Therac-25?) Ideally, they should build the technology into the hardware of the planes themselves, retrofitting were necessary. And I doubt that the pilots are going to accept this change.
http://212.229.115.84/tripod/mars.php
...is this actually cheaper and more convenient than just purchasing and/or making the individual systems yourself with your own Linux setup?
And another thing: is it just me, or is this only news because it's Linux-based?
I think that the problem is that there are a lot of people who are hearing of the WiFi craze, hearing that it is a good idea, and then setting up these adhoc networks. The problem is, they often don't bother to read up about the potential security risks of misconfiguration and so if (when?) they mess up, there's a wide open hole right there.
:-))
(And no, "wide open hole" isn't a goatse link
I'm the call centre supervisor for a medium sized ISP in Britain (whose name I won't mention to avoid getting canned) who carry out a yearly online survey of our customers. In the last three years, the number of people who have ranked their concerns regarding spam as "high" or "significant" has actually steadily dropped, while our mail traffic has increased by about 40% year-on-year. We offer server-side filtering of spam and popups for a small fee and many are willing to pay for it. The other ISPs do the same thing, like Demon Internet, so there's little competition for this kind of thing.
I managed to get some nice pretty Aqua screenshots of KDE and KOffice on Mac OS X. http://212.229.115.84/tripod/images/kofficemac/.
The idea of social networks is just insecure from the get-go. When people are connected, there's increased potential for security risks and flaws to be exploited and to be created. It's like broadcasting your real email and IP addresses on Usenet - a bad idea. The buggy implementations are just icing on the cake.
The book is pretty fascinating; Baxter draws upon the work in recent decades on self emergent order, that arises from simple rules between cellular automata. (See for example seminal work by Wolfram in the early 80s.) The gist of these is that very rudimentary rules for short range interactions between these automata can give rise to ordered phenomena over larger distances and times. This book posits such an ordering over some 1600 years, from the fall of the Roman Empire to the present time.
Baxter also seems to implicitly use work by Richard Dawkins, in "The Selfish Gene", where Dawkins argues that organisms are just the vessels by which their genes propagate in time. For the most part, this refers to nonsentient creatures. But the most provocative implication of Dawkins' work is that we too are bound by such imperatives. The plot in this book also seems to follow this thread.
The whole thing was OK, but the subplot of possible aliens in outer space seems to be quite jarring, and not well fitting, as compared to the way Baxter mixes the two narrative, from the present and the past.
Sleazy people making sleazy products. Shocking.
If this issue should be decided anywhere, it should be in the courts.
The thing is this, there is no issue to be decided.
Ergo, this whole thing is just a stupid thing to do. Computer games...free speech...second amendment...it's all getting hazy...
I'm hoping that VoIP remains as unencumbered by foolish laws and regulations as is. With recent, pending and looming court actions this could change soon and be one of the great turning points of 2004. As is, though, I think we're in a very good situation and I hope the lawmakers keep it that way. Fingers crossed for communication technology!
And don't suddenly stop your intake. Reduce it gradually, in transitional stages. This can be difficult, but it's worth the patience.
Earth changes its spin, baffles scientists
Thursday, January 1, 2004 Posted: 10:16 AM EST (1516 GMT)
BOULDER, Colorado (AP) -- In a phenomenon that has scientists puzzled, the Earth is right on schedule for a fifth straight year.
Experts agree that the rate at which the Earth travels through space has slowed ever so slightly for millennia. To make the world's official time agree with where the Earth actually is in space, scientists in 1972 started adding an extra "leap second" on the last day of the year.
For 28 years, scientists repeated the procedure. But in 1999, they discovered the Earth was no longer lagging behind.
At the National Institute for Science and Technology in Boulder, spokesman Fred McGehan said most scientists agree the Earth's orbit around the sun has been gradually slowing for millennia. But he said they don't have a good explanation for why it's suddenly on schedule.
Possible explanations include the tides, weather and changes in the Earth's core, he said.
The leap second was an unexpected consequence of the 1955 invention of the atomic clock, which use the electromagnetic radiation emanated by Cesium atoms to measure time. It is extremely reliable.
Atomic-based Coordinated Universal Time was implemented in 1972, superseding the astronomically determined Greenwich Mean Time.
Leap seconds can be a big deal, affecting everything from communication, navigation and air traffic control systems to the computers that link global financial markets.
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights taken. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
It will allows us to better study the properties of intersolar and pansolar materials in high-velocity space bodies. We'll be able to gain insights into the likely composition of planets which are too far away to analyse directly, and if this works we can confirm whether or not it is actually a 'vapor' trail or some other substance. There are other, lesser implications for space travel also, but that's about the gist of it.