One of the side effects of modern mass communications, personal mobility, and 'mallification' is that even small towns in the South are increasingly indistinguishable from LA or New York. The work and hope of my generation - that Southerners could retain the manners and culture of their heritage, while discarding racism and bias, has been undone by McDonald's and MTV.
Last I checked, New York City isn't a car-based 'suburban wasteland' where you have to drive to a shopping mall to buy anything useful (have you even *been* to NYC). And things like Wal*Mart are indigenous forces, not external ones -- WM started in Arkansas IIRC. I do, however, agree that the convergence and homogenization of American culture sort of sucks.
Swiping is always faster because you dont have to dial your pin, wait for the terminal to connect to a bank and check that your card works etc...
Swiping can be combined with a PIN. And, AFAIK, if you swipe a card, it still takes the numbers and verifies them with the bank before approving (you can even hear it dialling in some cases). We're not talking about the old machines that just take a stamped imprint of the card here, though I've still seen those in use in a few places recently!
Why not use a smart card instead for payment with a secure PIN
RFID has privacy issues. The smart cards with contacts have to be held just right to work -- swiping a magstripe is actually probably faster. I like the secure PIN idea.
Err... wouldn't that mean that you could pay a traffic fine immediately?
I think Ohio already did this -- credit card machines connected to cell phones in highway patrol cars. If you were from out of state, you could either pay it, or wait to go in front of a judge and post bail. Guess which option most people chose?
Since the we US folks are a-scared bunch, you probably wouldn't get a job. The number of publicized incidences of Mucko-style office carnage, or even what happened at Virginia tech, does have a lot of people on edge.
Contract work or otherwise, I haven't had a single employer ask me for my health records. Remember that unless you're committed by a judge, mental and physical health records are confidential and not part of a "background check" type police record.
Oddly, my credit has been horrid until recently and I've gotten every "check" job I've applied for.
Some employers might think that bad credit is a good thing -- makes their workers hungrier and less likely to quit. It's much harder to quit if you're in debt than if you have $20k in the bank and owe nothing.
That was me went I went for an interview with what turned out to be a spammer back in 2001. I decided then without a spamming job I had a chance that I would still have freinds that would help me out
Plus, even before CAN SPAM, many of the activities associated with spamming were illegal. You really don't want to end up being the fall guy for some spamming dickhead. A few years in prison would not be fun at all.
Maybe then people will finally realize that there are way too many people being incarcerated for menial convictions, like possesion, intent, DUI convictions etc. im not saying that we should ignore DUI's, but seriously, i think incarcerating someone for that will just make them more likely to commit more serious crimes when they get out.
Jail time is not the problem. Records of convictions, irrespective of whether they resulted in jail, are the problem. We should do as certain more civilized places do and automatically expunge convictions for misdemenors if the offender has kept their nose clean for 5 years or so.
Anything would be better than the current way my hard drive works. Spinning discs on a platter?! A thousand moving parts?! What is this, the Stone Age?!
Hey, it works and is for the most part reliable. BTW- why does everyone assume that there won't be a need or desire for mechanical systems in the next century? Mechanical engineering and design is far from passe, and will find applications in new fields like space travel in the future.
And thank goodness. Your green concrete yard and pile of 30-year-old cars affects MY home's value and the aesthetic integrity of my neighborhood. If you live within 100 feet of another family, be considerate.
Sure will. I'll plant poison sumac in my front yard. Much better than green concrete IMHO.
"We have evidence that you may have broken 235 traffic laws, so we might have to arrest you... but for a small fee, we can forget the whole thing."
The proper response is "arrest me -- we'll see what a judge and jury says." And to press charges and sue for extortion as well. This Microsoft tactic is the same as gang thugs breaking business owners' legs because they don't give them a large enough part of the "action."
land line until VOIP can be powered from telephone line current
If your house is wired for Ethernet, you can just get a Power Over Ethernet switch. You should then be able to plug your VoIP phones into the wall with no transformers needed.
While automated voice-comprehension technology has been implemented in a few systems, touch-tone menus are pretty ubiquitous.
I have a "2500" phone, which is basically a touch-tone version of the old rotary sets. It has a mechanical bell, not an annoying "tweedler" ringer, it's heavy enough not to fall off the table if you pull on the receiver cord a bit, and it actually sounds better than most newer phones. The handset is also great, since it actually fits your ear rather than hurting it if you hold it between your shoulder and ear.
Also, keep in mind you can happily outsource most of your VoIP needs, so you don't even have to invest in the infrastructure to get there.
But if you want to keep voicemail on site, you can just invest in a (cheaper than a PBX, usually) server and run Asterisk. If you're using landlines for outgoing, you'll need a phone interface card, but still usually cheaper than a "classic" PBX.
The whole rest of the world has moved to GSM (well, apart from Japan, who are as always a couple of generations of technology ahead). It's time you left your ancient analogue mobile phones behind, and while you're at it you might like to try using the same frequencies as everyone else.
The US hasn't used analogue extensively since the late 90s -- we're mostly either GSM or CDMA (which has _better_ quality than GSM, since it's not time-divided!). The last analogue support in the network is supposed to be phased out in 2008-9 or so.
I converted to cell-only not because I'm always on the go or because of any cachet, but to avoid the constant barrage of telemarketer and solicitation calls I received at my land line.
I get some of those on my landline too. They're easily dealt with: "Fuck off and die. Thanks! Bye now!"
I just looked up the local demerit points for careless/negligent driving vs using a phone, and they were the same - 3 points.
Here (NJ, USA) they have careless driving, which is basically being stupid while driving -- 2 points. Then they have reckless driving, which tends to involve wilfull disregard for safety and human life. That's usually 5 points. I think that texting whilst driving should fall under the latter category!
I actually read somewhere (I think on slashdot, maybe on BBC news) about several weeks ago that there was some effort going on with the US railway companies currently to provide a unified service and cooperate in order to start competing with airlines.
Most passenger service in the USA is already unified under a nationalized monopoly called Amtrak, BTW. Amtrak is remarkably inefficient at what it does, unfortunately.
I some how find it ironic that there are no laws against smoking in a car but there are laws against texting or cellphone use.
NJ tried to pass one (also applied to eating or drinking anything). Fortunately, it failed. BTW, there's a huge difference between holding a cigarette, pipe or whatever and typing on a keyboard. You don't have to look at the cigarette to see if you're smoking it correctly, and you can hold it in your mouth a lot of the time. Unlike a cellphone.
Also, some people need to smoke. Do we really want a bunch of annoyed, nic-fitting drivers sharing the roads with us? I ride motorcycles and bicycles. Therefore, I am fragile. I say, no thanks...
But then again, this is America we are talking about, were most people equate public transportation with being poor and/or defective.....
Also, the more populated areas need *good* rail networks if people are to use them. Compare passenger trains in the US and Europe: the US seems stuck in the 1940s as far as technology -- US trains are labor intensive (and hence expensive) to run. Part of the fault lies with the Federal government for making crash standards for trains excessively rigid, even though train wrecks are pretty rare (and, since trains are safer than driving, if more people ride slightly less safe trains, it might still be a net gain in lives saved). Far better would be to prevent crashes by requiring better signaling and track sensors.
If they're going to fine texting while driving, they should at least make it $500.
I'd prefer an informal way of dealing with texting. Cop takes cell phone, puts it under back wheel of offender's car. "Pull forward, sir." (The alternative can be charges of reckless driving if the offender wants his day in court.)
Texting while driving is reckless driving IMHO. Charge them with *that* instead of a new, more minor, traffic offense. The fines and demerit points for reckless driving are _steep._
Humans are not very well adapted for cold we are better adapted for heat. If you are in an extream cold environment you need to produce more energy to keep warm, Shivering, foraging for extra clothing and or to make a fire to keep warm. For extream heat we reduce our energy move more slowly, find a place where there is shade, and keep hydrated.
Exactly -- it's no fun living in an environment where you have to "slow down" and can't *do* things outside. Speaking for myself, if it gets much above 85-90F, I shut down, get really tired, and sweat like a pig. I'd be just as happy if it didn't get above 75F much.
Um, I'm sure it's a bit more work than that. Very few countries have ever been able to make a bomb.
The manufacturing part is actually simpler than getting the materials -- seperation of uranium isotopes or extraction of plutonium *is* actually quite difficult and dangerous. Then again, who knows how much of those materials are unaccounted for in their pure states already.
You make it sound like banging two radioactive rocks together... yeah that's why everyone had to get their technology from someone else?
There's a difference between a crude device that can be delivered by truck and something that can fit on a missile. Most states tend to want the latter, not the former. Terrorist organizations may well be less picky.
Many governments were concerned but it was believed that it wasn't too much of an issue, because the material necessary to arm it was about a pound of Polonium.
Polonium is needed for the neutron initiator in some -- not all -- nuclear devices.
Slashdot Mirror
Last I checked, New York City isn't a car-based 'suburban wasteland' where you have to drive to a shopping mall to buy anything useful (have you even *been* to NYC). And things like Wal*Mart are indigenous forces, not external ones -- WM started in Arkansas IIRC. I do, however, agree that the convergence and homogenization of American culture sort of sucks.
-b.
... must be a cold day in hell today :)
Swiping can be combined with a PIN. And, AFAIK, if you swipe a card, it still takes the numbers and verifies them with the bank before approving (you can even hear it dialling in some cases). We're not talking about the old machines that just take a stamped imprint of the card here, though I've still seen those in use in a few places recently!
-b.
RFID has privacy issues. The smart cards with contacts have to be held just right to work -- swiping a magstripe is actually probably faster. I like the secure PIN idea.
-b.
I think Ohio already did this -- credit card machines connected to cell phones in highway patrol cars. If you were from out of state, you could either pay it, or wait to go in front of a judge and post bail. Guess which option most people chose?
-b.
Contract work or otherwise, I haven't had a single employer ask me for my health records. Remember that unless you're committed by a judge, mental and physical health records are confidential and not part of a "background check" type police record.
-b.
Some employers might think that bad credit is a good thing -- makes their workers hungrier and less likely to quit. It's much harder to quit if you're in debt than if you have $20k in the bank and owe nothing.
-b.
Plus, even before CAN SPAM, many of the activities associated with spamming were illegal. You really don't want to end up being the fall guy for some spamming dickhead. A few years in prison would not be fun at all.
-b.
Jail time is not the problem. Records of convictions, irrespective of whether they resulted in jail, are the problem. We should do as certain more civilized places do and automatically expunge convictions for misdemenors if the offender has kept their nose clean for 5 years or so.
-b.
Hey, it works and is for the most part reliable. BTW- why does everyone assume that there won't be a need or desire for mechanical systems in the next century? Mechanical engineering and design is far from passe, and will find applications in new fields like space travel in the future.
-b.
And thank goodness. Your green concrete yard and pile of 30-year-old cars affects MY home's value and the aesthetic integrity of my neighborhood. If you live within 100 feet of another family, be considerate.
Sure will. I'll plant poison sumac in my front yard. Much better than green concrete IMHO.
-b.
The proper response is "arrest me -- we'll see what a judge and jury says." And to press charges and sue for extortion as well. This Microsoft tactic is the same as gang thugs breaking business owners' legs because they don't give them a large enough part of the "action."
-b.
If your house is wired for Ethernet, you can just get a Power Over Ethernet switch. You should then be able to plug your VoIP phones into the wall with no transformers needed.
-b.
I have a "2500" phone, which is basically a touch-tone version of the old rotary sets. It has a mechanical bell, not an annoying "tweedler" ringer, it's heavy enough not to fall off the table if you pull on the receiver cord a bit, and it actually sounds better than most newer phones. The handset is also great, since it actually fits your ear rather than hurting it if you hold it between your shoulder and ear.
-b.
But if you want to keep voicemail on site, you can just invest in a (cheaper than a PBX, usually) server and run Asterisk. If you're using landlines for outgoing, you'll need a phone interface card, but still usually cheaper than a "classic" PBX.
-b.
The US hasn't used analogue extensively since the late 90s -- we're mostly either GSM or CDMA (which has _better_ quality than GSM, since it's not time-divided!). The last analogue support in the network is supposed to be phased out in 2008-9 or so.
-b.
I get some of those on my landline too. They're easily dealt with: "Fuck off and die. Thanks! Bye now!"
-b.
Here (NJ, USA) they have careless driving, which is basically being stupid while driving -- 2 points. Then they have reckless driving, which tends to involve wilfull disregard for safety and human life. That's usually 5 points. I think that texting whilst driving should fall under the latter category!
-b.
Most passenger service in the USA is already unified under a nationalized monopoly called Amtrak, BTW. Amtrak is remarkably inefficient at what it does, unfortunately.
-b.
NJ tried to pass one (also applied to eating or drinking anything). Fortunately, it failed. BTW, there's a huge difference between holding a cigarette, pipe or whatever and typing on a keyboard. You don't have to look at the cigarette to see if you're smoking it correctly, and you can hold it in your mouth a lot of the time. Unlike a cellphone.
Also, some people need to smoke. Do we really want a bunch of annoyed, nic-fitting drivers sharing the roads with us? I ride motorcycles and bicycles. Therefore, I am fragile. I say, no thanks...
-b.
Also, the more populated areas need *good* rail networks if people are to use them. Compare passenger trains in the US and Europe: the US seems stuck in the 1940s as far as technology -- US trains are labor intensive (and hence expensive) to run. Part of the fault lies with the Federal government for making crash standards for trains excessively rigid, even though train wrecks are pretty rare (and, since trains are safer than driving, if more people ride slightly less safe trains, it might still be a net gain in lives saved). Far better would be to prevent crashes by requiring better signaling and track sensors.
-b.
I'd prefer an informal way of dealing with texting. Cop takes cell phone, puts it under back wheel of offender's car. "Pull forward, sir." (The alternative can be charges of reckless driving if the offender wants his day in court.)
-b.
-b.
Exactly -- it's no fun living in an environment where you have to "slow down" and can't *do* things outside. Speaking for myself, if it gets much above 85-90F, I shut down, get really tired, and sweat like a pig. I'd be just as happy if it didn't get above 75F much.
Cold I can deal with -- just wear more layers...
The manufacturing part is actually simpler than getting the materials -- seperation of uranium isotopes or extraction of plutonium *is* actually quite difficult and dangerous. Then again, who knows how much of those materials are unaccounted for in their pure states already.
You make it sound like banging two radioactive rocks together... yeah that's why everyone had to get their technology from someone else?
There's a difference between a crude device that can be delivered by truck and something that can fit on a missile. Most states tend to want the latter, not the former. Terrorist organizations may well be less picky.
Many governments were concerned but it was believed that it wasn't too much of an issue, because the material necessary to arm it was about a pound of Polonium.
Polonium is needed for the neutron initiator in some -- not all -- nuclear devices.
-b.