[...] just use a 4 megapixel digital camera that anyone can buy from Compusa
Quite possibly because it wouldn't survive the conditions on Mars. Or on the way there. Try deep-freezing your digital camera, then put it in a vacuum chamber, then in a really dusty sandbox, and finally subject it to a potentially lethal (for a human) dose of radiation, and see if it still works.
Oh, and don't forget simulating the landing; heat it, vibrate it, and toss it on the ground.
Disclaimer: I wasn't there. I don't know exactly how the poor thing was treated. I'm not a member of the PETC (People for the Ethical Treatment of Cameras).
Last time I checked, the sun was still shining. And the U.S. still had a decent number of H bombs (OK, so I have no idea how many). But yeah, a working fusion power plant is something we won't see anytime soon.
As for weather forecasts, I'd be happy if they could tell me what weather we're having at the moment. (Or better yet, if they could tell me when the next 20-minute window in the rain will be, so I can arrive un-soaked at work.)
Anyhow, look at it like this: The problems you mention can surely be solved somehow, and if not their consequences will probably not kill us all. Heat death, on the other hand, seems pretty inevitable. Though right now I'd worry more about surviving the scorching of our planet by the sun a few hundred million years from now, when the sun's effect is several % higher than now...
Don't confuse stupidity with lack of political engagement / ethics / knowledge / possibilities.
I know quite a few people who are more or less stuck with Windows for various reasons (the main one being their employers' decision to - willingly or not - support Microsoft), but who would like to learn more and be able to break free. If a book like this can help even a few people gain some of the skills they need to migrate, it's a good thing.
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Quite possibly because it wouldn't survive the conditions on Mars. Or on the way there. Try deep-freezing your digital camera, then put it in a vacuum chamber, then in a really dusty sandbox, and finally subject it to a potentially lethal (for a human) dose of radiation, and see if it still works. Oh, and don't forget simulating the landing; heat it, vibrate it, and toss it on the ground.
Disclaimer: I wasn't there. I don't know exactly how the poor thing was treated. I'm not a member of the PETC (People for the Ethical Treatment of Cameras).
Last time I checked, the sun was still shining. And the U.S. still had a decent number of H bombs (OK, so I have no idea how many). But yeah, a working fusion power plant is something we won't see anytime soon.
As for weather forecasts, I'd be happy if they could tell me what weather we're having at the moment. (Or better yet, if they could tell me when the next 20-minute window in the rain will be, so I can arrive un-soaked at work.)
Anyhow, look at it like this: The problems you mention can surely be solved somehow, and if not their consequences will probably not kill us all. Heat death, on the other hand, seems pretty inevitable. Though right now I'd worry more about surviving the scorching of our planet by the sun a few hundred million years from now, when the sun's effect is several % higher than now...
Don't confuse stupidity with lack of political engagement / ethics / knowledge / possibilities. I know quite a few people who are more or less stuck with Windows for various reasons (the main one being their employers' decision to - willingly or not - support Microsoft), but who would like to learn more and be able to break free. If a book like this can help even a few people gain some of the skills they need to migrate, it's a good thing.