Thank you - not to mention that every true innovation stands on the shoulders of giants who came before. Want to know why patents/copyrights are killing innovation? Because there are now police lines around those proverbial shoulders.
True, groundbreaking innovation is rarely anything more than a modification of an existing process or practice or idea or thought. An ingenious one, yes - but without the work that came before, there would be nothing. Stopping the work that can come after is nothing short of criminal.
There are many solutions, not the least of which is to eliminate teacher unions (of which I am a member) completely. I can think of no greater conflict of interest than unions lobbying the state on educational issues.
I couldn't agree more. My parents, both members of the NEA and NJEA (New Jersey) are basically extorted into paying fees to an agency that hardly ever help in any way, and seem to spend more time lobbying on issues that have nothing to do with education (or the views of my parents.)
Please - this is NOT a push to start a flame war, so realize this post is NOT about abortion. However, at least with the NJEA and definatley with the NEA, for some reason, they lobby HEAVILY on pro-choice decisions in local and national arenas. While it not only confuses me (less aborted babies = more kids in school = more teaching jobs) it's totally outside the realm of anything to do with the education of children or what's in the interest of the teachers who are part of the union in the capacity of doing their jobs.
Teachers unions are so misguided and misdirected that they're almost completely useless. I know that they are certainly there for certain things like arbitration, but I feel that they evey shy away from conflict whenever possible, even discouraging teachers from filing grievances.
You think Sony won't force Lackluster to sign a contract preventing them from selling on their used stock?
Right of First Sale doesn't just apply to you and me.
That's why it violates copyright laws for people to sell copies of their music collection."
But it doesn't violate anything for people to sell THEIR copy of their music collection. Denying that right through this system denies me the Right of First Sale, and thus denies me my fair-use rights.
That's how to make any comment that may seem of any degree insightful seem completely foolish and the blabbering of an uber-dedicated fanboy that gets a chubby at the site of Tux.
It's amazing to me how people are so willing to make themselves look like complete assholes with a single sentence.
As long as it takes for current systems to become obsolete. There are better things to spend taxpayer money on right now than a full-scale system switch-over to OSS just because.
As desktop computers need replacing, use Linux. As servers require replacing, use OSS as well. As for the immediate - go with what's already in place.
My friend, if it were reason and logic you posessed, you would be able to realize that it is time for the world to rid itself of the PC blinders which plague this world and its ability to fight injustice. Islamic infighting, asassinations, and war began less than 20 years after Mohammad died in 632 AD (see a Google HTML'd version of the CRS PDF Report Islam: A Primer) and continues unabated to this day. If the fact that a majority of the deaths in Iraq are now due to Sunni-Shiite infighting escape you, I cannot help you.
Perhaps availing yourself of the CRS report above, as well as plentiful information regarding current events would further your lacking education in this matter.
(Most) Muslims fight in the name of God, no matter what the true cause. I'm tired of hearing that militant Islam is the minority faction - perhaps in the US it is, but in the Middle East it is not, and it's time that you and the rest of the world realized it. If Islam wants to be seen as a religion of peace, ridding itself of militias, oppressive governments, radicals, and generic infighting that is NOT held between small groups but large, million-person populations would be a good start. Until then, I (and many) will continue to regard it as a religion of agression and murder, one without an ounce of respect for human life.
Don't be so cynical - all progress starts with a product like this. Time will see memory capacity become denser, physical space requirements smaller, etc.
Two years ago 40G flash (hell, my 4G USB drive) would have been laughed at. Progress will continue unabated, so let's let MRAM get its foot in the door, and see where it is in a year or two. RAM sans power requirements is a nice place to be.
A new rebellion in the western region of Darfur began in early 2003. The rebels accuse the central government of neglecting the Darfur region, although there is uncertainty regarding the objectives of the rebels and whether they merely seek an improved position for Darfur within Sudan or outright secession. Both the government and the rebels have been accused of atrocities in this war, although most of the blame has fallen on Arab militias (Janjaweed) allied with the government. The rebels have alleged that these militias have been engaging in ethnic cleansing in Darfur, and the fighting has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, many of them seeking refuge in neighboring Chad. The government claimed victory over the rebels after capturing Tine, a town on the border with Chad, in early 2004, but violence continues and as of 2005 the humanitarian situation remains very poor.
(emphasis mine)
So yes, the Janjaweed, held responsible by most for the millions of deaths and injuries are indeed an Islamic militant group. cnettel, meet Dafur and the Janjaweed.
How many people died this year as a result of Religious extremism? How many died at the hands of political extremism? Is one worse than the other?
Nope - not at all. But then, see the rest of my post where I predict that for the US as well. I didn't say one was worse than the other, I'm just saying let's not deny the overwhelming power both currently have in the world.
Have we ever been able to acuratly forecast these things before? I may be a neophyte to political and social sciences, but is it actually relevent to forecast such things? I only say this because I am sick and tired of the doom and gloom culture! Really, I am...
No, it's just one of several possible scenarios, based mostly on the current path we're on. I hope to God that we get more green and more peace (although, perhaps no more Green Peace.)
Besides, my true belief is Terminator style - post-apocolyptic man-vs-machine wars with machines with giant gatling guns crushing skulls in the ruins of what was once a nice city park. But, ya know...
Looks to me like you are grouping peoples' religious beliefs in with quite a number of undisputabably terrible things... I'm not sure how seriously anyone can take your opinions if you choose to put the practice of Islam on the same level as civil war, famine, and genocide....
Mostly, it was based on the fact that Islam is often quoted as the fastest growing religion in the world (competing directly with Christianity, which would probably account for the majority of the rest of the 14b people.)
Further, the rise of Islam has seen, in step, the rise of radical Islam. Further, instead of pocketed mini-camps of radicalism, radical Islam has risen to supreme power in many countries, is being voted into power (Hamas) in others, and secular violence between factions of Islam is at an all-time high, to the point where civil war is a real fear in Iraq.
It's true - for now, I relate Islam to violence. Christianity had its time too - see the crusades, for one. But that time has now mostly past, and radical Christianity is not the threat to life and limb that radical Islam is.
As a matter of a fact, in (almost) every conflict currently under way in the world - "declared war" or not - Islam is decidedly a factor and a player. Even in the US vs. Iraq, many see it as a Zionist war against Islam, which brings Islam front and center. In Africa, almost every major civil war is an Islam-vs-Islam conflict (even if the underlying true cause is control of money-making oil fields, the battle cry is God.)
So while perhaps not PC, I certainly make the connection.
stabilize in 50 or so years with something like 10-14 billion people
Brutal honesty in my opinions here, but one can only assume that of that 10-14b, anywhere from 5-7b will be Muslim, 8-9b will live in countries currently engaged in either international or civil war, hundreds of millions will die each year of famine or genocide, global consumption of natural resources will more than double the levels they are now, wars will be fought over clean water (on top of other natural resources) and the distribution of wealth will be equally unevenly distributed as it is now - if not more.
To boot, major population areas will sustain the majority of growth, leaving sparsley populated areas still sparsely populated. Realization of the down-side of peak oil will have long hit, we will have seen poverty strike hard due to a crash in the international economy, etc., etc.
It's a grim outlook for sure. Certain populations aren't sustaining because quality of life is increasing, and people are not doing their part having their 2.5 children to sustain growth. Poverty usually sees upticks in populations (as do post-war times).
But with an acknowledgement of global warming but no plan to combat it, no centralized focus on greener technologies including renewable energy, increasing poverty, stupidly fast industrialization of nations that sustain world-majority populations, and wars still being fought based on religion - where can anyone expect to be in 50 years?
I certainly hope for a better future than this. But I live in the wealthy, greedy, oil-hungry 300m-person United States. My country accounts for shitloads of wealth with less than 1/12 of the population of the earth. I'm sure I'll be better off than anyone living in the middle east, China, India, etc.
On top of that, the following things will come to pass: realization and fighting over natural resources as we can only sustain growth in China and India for so long; a conflict and resolution concerning North Korea, and so on.
Oh, and the US may lose it's position as the world market leader... but that seems inevitable at this point in time too.
Na, that was proven to be relatively fruitless a while ago - see, when "customers" are allowed to dictate markets, they often disrupt existing infrastructures as technology and other progress moves forward. Companies like ABC dislike the interruption, and have tried "training" customers. They have found that customers resist this indoctrination, and want their DVRs (etc) just the same.
So while you may get to see a few "fast-forwarding puts Hollywood carpenters out of jobs" commercials, ABC will probably just bypass this step and go directly to Congress. After all, the lobbiests are on retainer, ya know.
The same kind of stuff was said about Santos Dumont, or the Wright brothers.
And with a big push in chicken ingenuity (and perhaps, you know, a research grant or two from the chicken federal government) one day chickens may perfect flight!!
Sorry, I didn't have mod points, but I found parent's post pretty damned funny.
And this is bad how? Seems like the exact opposite of what everyone on capital hill is crying about. Want to shoot people, sleep with hookers, steal cars, paint grafiti, run from the law? No reason to do it in real life when you can do it virtually, and remain within the limits of the real law.
I see no problem with games being an outlet for a life that a person would otherwise shy away from. Nothing wrong with make-believe.
Why should we have one more barrier between the rich/poor or educated/uneducated?
Because it wouldn't work anyway. Spelling requires a knowledge of the roman character set - which is where like 99% of illiteracy begins.
Now, my spelling stinks. Partially, because I type at an incredible rate of speed, partially because I don't care to check over my Slashdot posts. But my ability to spell "word" and "wurd" still require an introduction to the language, understanding the phoenetics of the language, the letters, basic sentence structure, etc.
Changing the spelling of wurds isn't going to suddenly eliminate illiteracy.
Agreed, especially considering it was originally proposed in 1789 by our most famous dictionary's namesake, so if he can't get it going, well then, I ask you, who really can?
Slashdot Mirror
Let's hope that the NEA never starts advertising that logic.
Thank you - not to mention that every true innovation stands on the shoulders of giants who came before. Want to know why patents/copyrights are killing innovation? Because there are now police lines around those proverbial shoulders.
True, groundbreaking innovation is rarely anything more than a modification of an existing process or practice or idea or thought. An ingenious one, yes - but without the work that came before, there would be nothing. Stopping the work that can come after is nothing short of criminal.
+1 For Serious Real Yo
Yes, but this and other arguments don't matter, because the RFID lobby paid more than you did.
I couldn't agree more. My parents, both members of the NEA and NJEA (New Jersey) are basically extorted into paying fees to an agency that hardly ever help in any way, and seem to spend more time lobbying on issues that have nothing to do with education (or the views of my parents.)
Please - this is NOT a push to start a flame war, so realize this post is NOT about abortion. However, at least with the NJEA and definatley with the NEA, for some reason, they lobby HEAVILY on pro-choice decisions in local and national arenas. While it not only confuses me (less aborted babies = more kids in school = more teaching jobs) it's totally outside the realm of anything to do with the education of children or what's in the interest of the teachers who are part of the union in the capacity of doing their jobs.
Teachers unions are so misguided and misdirected that they're almost completely useless. I know that they are certainly there for certain things like arbitration, but I feel that they evey shy away from conflict whenever possible, even discouraging teachers from filing grievances.
I'm rambilng. Point is, I agree with ya.
But it doesn't violate anything for people to sell THEIR copy of their music collection. Denying that right through this system denies me the Right of First Sale, and thus denies me my fair-use rights.
The problem is, you incorrectly assume most people use the preview button.
That's how to make any comment that may seem of any degree insightful seem completely foolish and the blabbering of an uber-dedicated fanboy that gets a chubby at the site of Tux.
It's amazing to me how people are so willing to make themselves look like complete assholes with a single sentence.
I have a sneaking suspicion that "State Secrets" privledge trumps GPL, since, you know, it trumps every other law in the land.
As long as it takes for current systems to become obsolete. There are better things to spend taxpayer money on right now than a full-scale system switch-over to OSS just because.
As desktop computers need replacing, use Linux. As servers require replacing, use OSS as well. As for the immediate - go with what's already in place.
My friend, if it were reason and logic you posessed, you would be able to realize that it is time for the world to rid itself of the PC blinders which plague this world and its ability to fight injustice. Islamic infighting, asassinations, and war began less than 20 years after Mohammad died in 632 AD (see a Google HTML'd version of the CRS PDF Report Islam: A Primer) and continues unabated to this day. If the fact that a majority of the deaths in Iraq are now due to Sunni-Shiite infighting escape you, I cannot help you.
Perhaps availing yourself of the CRS report above, as well as plentiful information regarding current events would further your lacking education in this matter.
(Most) Muslims fight in the name of God, no matter what the true cause. I'm tired of hearing that militant Islam is the minority faction - perhaps in the US it is, but in the Middle East it is not, and it's time that you and the rest of the world realized it. If Islam wants to be seen as a religion of peace, ridding itself of militias, oppressive governments, radicals, and generic infighting that is NOT held between small groups but large, million-person populations would be a good start. Until then, I (and many) will continue to regard it as a religion of agression and murder, one without an ounce of respect for human life.
In which case, the bashing of the poster of said dupe seems to follow the same basic pattern of interest...
Don't be so cynical - all progress starts with a product like this. Time will see memory capacity become denser, physical space requirements smaller, etc.
Two years ago 40G flash (hell, my 4G USB drive) would have been laughed at. Progress will continue unabated, so let's let MRAM get its foot in the door, and see where it is in a year or two. RAM sans power requirements is a nice place to be.
A new rebellion in the western region of Darfur began in early 2003. The rebels accuse the central government of neglecting the Darfur region, although there is uncertainty regarding the objectives of the rebels and whether they merely seek an improved position for Darfur within Sudan or outright secession. Both the government and the rebels have been accused of atrocities in this war, although most of the blame has fallen on Arab militias (Janjaweed) allied with the government. The rebels have alleged that these militias have been engaging in ethnic cleansing in Darfur, and the fighting has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, many of them seeking refuge in neighboring Chad. The government claimed victory over the rebels after capturing Tine, a town on the border with Chad, in early 2004, but violence continues and as of 2005 the humanitarian situation remains very poor.
(emphasis mine)
So yes, the Janjaweed, held responsible by most for the millions of deaths and injuries are indeed an Islamic militant group. cnettel, meet Dafur and the Janjaweed.
Nope - not at all. But then, see the rest of my post where I predict that for the US as well. I didn't say one was worse than the other, I'm just saying let's not deny the overwhelming power both currently have in the world.
No, it's just one of several possible scenarios, based mostly on the current path we're on. I hope to God that we get more green and more peace (although, perhaps no more Green Peace.)
Besides, my true belief is Terminator style - post-apocolyptic man-vs-machine wars with machines with giant gatling guns crushing skulls in the ruins of what was once a nice city park. But, ya know...
Mostly, it was based on the fact that Islam is often quoted as the fastest growing religion in the world (competing directly with Christianity, which would probably account for the majority of the rest of the 14b people.)
Further, the rise of Islam has seen, in step, the rise of radical Islam. Further, instead of pocketed mini-camps of radicalism, radical Islam has risen to supreme power in many countries, is being voted into power (Hamas) in others, and secular violence between factions of Islam is at an all-time high, to the point where civil war is a real fear in Iraq.
It's true - for now, I relate Islam to violence. Christianity had its time too - see the crusades, for one. But that time has now mostly past, and radical Christianity is not the threat to life and limb that radical Islam is.
As a matter of a fact, in (almost) every conflict currently under way in the world - "declared war" or not - Islam is decidedly a factor and a player. Even in the US vs. Iraq, many see it as a Zionist war against Islam, which brings Islam front and center. In Africa, almost every major civil war is an Islam-vs-Islam conflict (even if the underlying true cause is control of money-making oil fields, the battle cry is God.)
So while perhaps not PC, I certainly make the connection.
Brutal honesty in my opinions here, but one can only assume that of that 10-14b, anywhere from 5-7b will be Muslim, 8-9b will live in countries currently engaged in either international or civil war, hundreds of millions will die each year of famine or genocide, global consumption of natural resources will more than double the levels they are now, wars will be fought over clean water (on top of other natural resources) and the distribution of wealth will be equally unevenly distributed as it is now - if not more.
To boot, major population areas will sustain the majority of growth, leaving sparsley populated areas still sparsely populated. Realization of the down-side of peak oil will have long hit, we will have seen poverty strike hard due to a crash in the international economy, etc., etc.
It's a grim outlook for sure. Certain populations aren't sustaining because quality of life is increasing, and people are not doing their part having their 2.5 children to sustain growth. Poverty usually sees upticks in populations (as do post-war times).
But with an acknowledgement of global warming but no plan to combat it, no centralized focus on greener technologies including renewable energy, increasing poverty, stupidly fast industrialization of nations that sustain world-majority populations, and wars still being fought based on religion - where can anyone expect to be in 50 years?
I certainly hope for a better future than this. But I live in the wealthy, greedy, oil-hungry 300m-person United States. My country accounts for shitloads of wealth with less than 1/12 of the population of the earth. I'm sure I'll be better off than anyone living in the middle east, China, India, etc.
On top of that, the following things will come to pass: realization and fighting over natural resources as we can only sustain growth in China and India for so long; a conflict and resolution concerning North Korea, and so on.
Oh, and the US may lose it's position as the world market leader... but that seems inevitable at this point in time too.
Na, that was proven to be relatively fruitless a while ago - see, when "customers" are allowed to dictate markets, they often disrupt existing infrastructures as technology and other progress moves forward. Companies like ABC dislike the interruption, and have tried "training" customers. They have found that customers resist this indoctrination, and want their DVRs (etc) just the same.
So while you may get to see a few "fast-forwarding puts Hollywood carpenters out of jobs" commercials, ABC will probably just bypass this step and go directly to Congress. After all, the lobbiests are on retainer, ya know.
And with a big push in chicken ingenuity (and perhaps, you know, a research grant or two from the chicken federal government) one day chickens may perfect flight!!
Sorry, I didn't have mod points, but I found parent's post pretty damned funny.
And this is bad how? Seems like the exact opposite of what everyone on capital hill is crying about. Want to shoot people, sleep with hookers, steal cars, paint grafiti, run from the law? No reason to do it in real life when you can do it virtually, and remain within the limits of the real law.
I see no problem with games being an outlet for a life that a person would otherwise shy away from. Nothing wrong with make-believe.
And yet, another year goes by where "l33t" is once again overlooked. You keep your head up, "l33t". We're all pulling for you.
Because it wouldn't work anyway. Spelling requires a knowledge of the roman character set - which is where like 99% of illiteracy begins.
Now, my spelling stinks. Partially, because I type at an incredible rate of speed, partially because I don't care to check over my Slashdot posts. But my ability to spell "word" and "wurd" still require an introduction to the language, understanding the phoenetics of the language, the letters, basic sentence structure, etc.
Changing the spelling of wurds isn't going to suddenly eliminate illiteracy.
Agreed, especially considering it was originally proposed in 1789 by our most famous dictionary's namesake, so if he can't get it going, well then, I ask you, who really can?
Nuthing fore u tu see here. Pleez mov alon.