Can someone explain to me what a data center really is? I just imagine a bunch of servers. How many people does this require to be present? It must be a lot to drive up housing prices but I'm curious what all these people do.
What if intense exercise is overrated? By intense I basically activities like jogging or swimming laps for an hour, the kind that is done in PE.
Look at the difference between Europeans and Americans. I've lived on both continents. I rarely see people jog in Europe yet they are thinner than Americans. Meanwhile, I see Americans huffing and puffing around the neighborhood but many don't even seem that fit.
Then I see studies that say you only need to do a little exercise to reap the rewards, e.g., wash the car. This doesn't strike me as being exercise. It amounts to using your body in some way beyond sitting in front of a couch or PC. In my experience, this is the kind of exercise a lot of Europeans are getting.
On top of that, I'm not convinced any primates have evolved in such a way that makes intense exercise "natural." Do any primates enter into a sustained run for an hour in their natural habitat? On the other hand, primates have evolved to eat non-processed foods that are found in the wild and move around regularly throughout the day.
All this makes me wonder if intense exercise isn't somewhat overrated. (It also makes me think of exercising monkeys.)
... it's that the dissent is being irresponsibly over-exaggerated and manipulated by certain parties (namely the Bush administration). It's somewhat similar to holocaust or evolution denials. It's not a problem, perhaps even healthy, that there is dissent. However, if decision-makers start cherry-picking oddball positions to further their policy (like the Bush administration on the environment or evolution and Iran on the holocaust) then you have a problem. The problem is with the decision-makers, not the various individuals expressing their thoughts.
People work for money. If you didn't provide incentives for lawyers, they would not try to redress these wrongs. In the long run, class action litigation deters businesses from misbehaving.
We've never had the right to privacy on public streets. To the extent the government can abuse the power to monitor people, you can use the same safeguards we have for home searches (which is far more intrusive): warrants. If someone gets mugged at 9:00 on Main Street, you get the recordings of the area for a couple hours before and hour by showing a crime was committed there. Other posters seem more concerned with the fact that they might get caught smoking marijuana. If you think smoking marijuana in public places should be legal in public places, argue that, but don't argue against one particular method of enforcement.
I wasn't around in the sixties. The TOS is at times so bizarre (in design, costumes, etc) that it almost seems more plausible to me that it could be hundred of years into the future.
That said, if they're going to update it though, they'd better update everything. Having the funky internal panels with cgi space battles would be weird.
Problem is that people say English words in different accents, and these accents change over time. So if you have phonetic spelling it will make less sense to someone with a different accents. Also, the standard spellings of a word tells you a lot about its history and therefore its meaning.
In my experience, countries with free (or very cheap) higher education impose a lot of barriers on entrance and graduation. They do this because the state can't afford to educate everyone at a higher level. While my preference is a mixed contribution system like US public/state schools, at least in privitized systems you can get an education if you're willing to take the risk (debt). I wonder what the actual cost per student is in China and what percentage of an average yearly income it represents.
I wish in more countries (including the US) there were cheaper options to pursue education via self-study. I've attended universities with pools, fancy fitness centers and well-known research professors (for whatever they're worth to students) but I've learned most when simply reading books I've chosen on my own. I'd like a more fleshed out CLEP-like system where you study on your own and then pay for a test that will measure your knowledge of the subject. I recognize self-study doesn't work at all levels, but one should be able to learn on one's own by the the time they graduate from high school.
The advantage of a windows platform is that there is so much specialty software. For example, when I was a student I looked for flash card (study) software. I used a decent KDE software program, but I wanted more options and features. 99% of the world wouldn't care about a flash card program much less having fancy features on a flashcard program. But I wanted it and I found some Windows-only shareware that suited my needs. Depending on what your focus is, you can find specialized software for the Windows platform.
Unless you're working with graphics/art (where a mac arguably rules) or running a server (where linux/*nix arguably rules), windows is going to have the most software options for your user-end specialty. Ultimately, that's why despite the problems with windows I still use it as my main desktop.
Other than that, I would go to sourceforge.org and look at the top 100 projects. A lot of the best software for windows is open-source (not to mention available for other platforms).
Why isn't this more popular already?
on
MS & Game Rentals
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· Score: 3, Insightful
As other posters have mentioned, we gamers do have the desire to get games over the net. Not only that, a lot of games that don't have much replayability and I'm satisfied with a rental.
Why are there only old games? What about even selling games digitally (yeah, I'd accept some DRM crap for the convience)?
Maybe a little protectionism or at least reciprocity with regards to importing scientists would help? I would think the fact that a lot of people don't see science as that lucrative is hurting the amount of people majoring in it and having to compete with everyone around the world mkes it harder. I hear about a lot of Phds out there who don't make all that much compared to the monkeys who manage them.
This isn't the most popular idea right now with books like the World is Flat out... but in the long term America will no longer attract all the best scientists around the world. At that point we will need to rely on domestic supplies of scientists for national security.
The point is you have to take it on a case-by-case basis unless you want to resort to an appeal to popularity.
Streamline Higher Education and Promote Self-Study
on
Improving Education?
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· Score: 1
Higher Education:
It doesn't need to be so expensive and so lengthy. We don't need fancy gyms and other resort-like facilities. Semesters should give way to quarters or more frequent exams so that people stop spending most of their undergrad playing around and cramming at the end of the semester.
Self Study:
I have a college degree and a graduate degree, but most of what I know is from my own reading. Sure, it may take some people 1/3 of a year to learn about basic American government institutions, but those that learn it on their own should be able to pass out and not waste the time for that. Yes, there are APs but they are only for basic subjects and they aren't always recognized by all schools.
Anyway, someone should be able to theoretically learn math by themselves and simply be granted a degree if they pass the requisite tests, no matter if they go to class or not. After all, a lot of great minds in the past were self-taught.
Primary education:
It should prepare people to be able to self-teach. What basic knowledge do you need to teach yourself? Mostly reading (good writers usually read a lot) and logic (including math). Every highschool graduate should be able to recognze a logical fallacy when they see one. If you have logic and an understanding of language, you can learn the rest yourself.
I don't agree with Greenpeace's view on nuclear energy but calling them extremists and pretending that is some sort of valid critique is not okay.
I hate the "extremist" argument. Extreme positions and the people that have them are not bad in themselves. At one point or another many great ideas have been extreme and unpopular.
You don't see a difference between unilaterally invading another country and unilaterally developing a scientific / technical project?
Are there any international rules against what France did? With the US there was that whole UN Charter thing...
I don't think the popular use should determine "promotion" but do you guy really think more legal use than illegal in terms of bandwidth? That seems like wishful thinking.
This only shows the market wants full windows, not windows alternatives.
This exemplifies the dangers of market intervention. A lot of time, it just ends up having wacky effects. There was a time to intervene with MS and MS has engaged in anti-competitive behavior, but this wasn't the time or issue to take them on.
... a noble vigilante.
Vigilantes and justice just don't go together, unlike in the movies and comics. So even if you had all the equipment and training and could pay off the authorities to allow you to create your own justice, the abuse of your power would stop most people from thinking of you as a superhero.
Other countries doing terrible things is not a justification for US actions. Same reasoning comes up today when a terrorist cuts off someone's head and then flag-waivers use that as an some sort of justification for US wrongs.
There are better arguments for the use of the a-bomb, like ending the war earlier and saving lives that way or even crass realpolitik arguments that make more sense. But pointing to other wrongdoing is not helpful.
I've known people raised to never watch TV and to be outside and others who had cable tv / nintendo from a very early age and were allowed to watch as much as they wanted to. I think those without the limits turned out better.
The ones who had artificial limits just seem less knowledgeable now. The ones who had freedom and who were smart moved beyond TV and nintendo, got bored, and moved into other interests yet have knowledge about popular culture. The ones who saw TV are surprisingly more creative. The ones who had TV sill read books and were often excellent students.
(I was in the middle. To the extent I was given limits, I don't think I really benefitted from them.)
I say expose your kids to a lot, and they'll find a nice balance themselves.
"Well it doesn't really matter what you think, because this guy actually researched it. His research is more important than your uninformed opinion. Not saying you're wrong, but I'm saying you don't know, so you cannot dismiss it."
Despite you saying he's not wrong, this sounds an awefully lot like an appeal to authority. "He's a researcher, so his opinion is more valuable than yours." BS. Analyze the person's arguments, not their pedigree. IF an AC shows this guy's research is flawed, then they CAN dismiss it.
"Sorry for becomming slightly off topic, but I hate political correctness."
Nothing wrong with political correctness. However, the merits of political correctness have no bearing on the validity of this guy's claim. A lot of people seem to be leaning towards that kind of thinking.
First of all, do they claim Ashkenazi were in the the Israel / Palestine area a couple thousand years ago and that they were part of the same population as Sephardic? How could their ethnic characteristics change so quickly? (It seems more likely that the Ashkenazi were Europeans that converted to Judiasm.
Second, generally, isn't this asking for a lot of change in a short time period?
Slashdot Mirror
Can someone explain to me what a data center really is? I just imagine a bunch of servers. How many people does this require to be present? It must be a lot to drive up housing prices but I'm curious what all these people do.
What if intense exercise is overrated? By intense I basically activities like jogging or swimming laps for an hour, the kind that is done in PE.
Look at the difference between Europeans and Americans. I've lived on both continents. I rarely see people jog in Europe yet they are thinner than Americans. Meanwhile, I see Americans huffing and puffing around the neighborhood but many don't even seem that fit.
Then I see studies that say you only need to do a little exercise to reap the rewards, e.g., wash the car. This doesn't strike me as being exercise. It amounts to using your body in some way beyond sitting in front of a couch or PC. In my experience, this is the kind of exercise a lot of Europeans are getting.
On top of that, I'm not convinced any primates have evolved in such a way that makes intense exercise "natural." Do any primates enter into a sustained run for an hour in their natural habitat? On the other hand, primates have evolved to eat non-processed foods that are found in the wild and move around regularly throughout the day.
All this makes me wonder if intense exercise isn't somewhat overrated. (It also makes me think of exercising monkeys.)
... it's that the dissent is being irresponsibly over-exaggerated and manipulated by certain parties (namely the Bush administration). It's somewhat similar to holocaust or evolution denials. It's not a problem, perhaps even healthy, that there is dissent. However, if decision-makers start cherry-picking oddball positions to further their policy (like the Bush administration on the environment or evolution and Iran on the holocaust) then you have a problem. The problem is with the decision-makers, not the various individuals expressing their thoughts.
People work for money. If you didn't provide incentives for lawyers, they would not try to redress these wrongs. In the long run, class action litigation deters businesses from misbehaving.
We've never had the right to privacy on public streets. To the extent the government can abuse the power to monitor people, you can use the same safeguards we have for home searches (which is far more intrusive): warrants. If someone gets mugged at 9:00 on Main Street, you get the recordings of the area for a couple hours before and hour by showing a crime was committed there. Other posters seem more concerned with the fact that they might get caught smoking marijuana. If you think smoking marijuana in public places should be legal in public places, argue that, but don't argue against one particular method of enforcement.
I wasn't around in the sixties. The TOS is at times so bizarre (in design, costumes, etc) that it almost seems more plausible to me that it could be hundred of years into the future.
That said, if they're going to update it though, they'd better update everything. Having the funky internal panels with cgi space battles would be weird.
Problem is that people say English words in different accents, and these accents change over time. So if you have phonetic spelling it will make less sense to someone with a different accents. Also, the standard spellings of a word tells you a lot about its history and therefore its meaning.
In my experience, countries with free (or very cheap) higher education impose a lot of barriers on entrance and graduation. They do this because the state can't afford to educate everyone at a higher level. While my preference is a mixed contribution system like US public/state schools, at least in privitized systems you can get an education if you're willing to take the risk (debt).
I wonder what the actual cost per student is in China and what percentage of an average yearly income it represents.
I wish in more countries (including the US) there were cheaper options to pursue education via self-study. I've attended universities with pools, fancy fitness centers and well-known research professors (for whatever they're worth to students) but I've learned most when simply reading books I've chosen on my own. I'd like a more fleshed out CLEP-like system where you study on your own and then pay for a test that will measure your knowledge of the subject. I recognize self-study doesn't work at all levels, but one should be able to learn on one's own by the the time they graduate from high school.
The advantage of a windows platform is that there is so much specialty software. For example, when I was a student I looked for flash card (study) software. I used a decent KDE software program, but I wanted more options and features. 99% of the world wouldn't care about a flash card program much less having fancy features on a flashcard program. But I wanted it and I found some Windows-only shareware that suited my needs. Depending on what your focus is, you can find specialized software for the Windows platform.
Unless you're working with graphics/art (where a mac arguably rules) or running a server (where linux/*nix arguably rules), windows is going to have the most software options for your user-end specialty. Ultimately, that's why despite the problems with windows I still use it as my main desktop.
Other than that, I would go to sourceforge.org and look at the top 100 projects. A lot of the best software for windows is open-source (not to mention available for other platforms).
As other posters have mentioned, we gamers do have the desire to get games over the net. Not only that, a lot of games that don't have much replayability and I'm satisfied with a rental.
Why are there only old games? What about even selling games digitally (yeah, I'd accept some DRM crap for the convience)?
So what's the holdup?
Maybe a little protectionism or at least reciprocity with regards to importing scientists would help? I would think the fact that a lot of people don't see science as that lucrative is hurting the amount of people majoring in it and having to compete with everyone around the world mkes it harder. I hear about a lot of Phds out there who don't make all that much compared to the monkeys who manage them.
This isn't the most popular idea right now with books like the World is Flat out... but in the long term America will no longer attract all the best scientists around the world. At that point we will need to rely on domestic supplies of scientists for national security.
The point is you have to take it on a case-by-case basis unless you want to resort to an appeal to popularity.
Higher Education:
It doesn't need to be so expensive and so lengthy. We don't need fancy gyms and other resort-like facilities. Semesters should give way to quarters or more frequent exams so that people stop spending most of their undergrad playing around and cramming at the end of the semester.
Self Study:
I have a college degree and a graduate degree, but most of what I know is from my own reading. Sure, it may take some people 1/3 of a year to learn about basic American government institutions, but those that learn it on their own should be able to pass out and not waste the time for that. Yes, there are APs but they are only for basic subjects and they aren't always recognized by all schools.
Anyway, someone should be able to theoretically learn math by themselves and simply be granted a degree if they pass the requisite tests, no matter if they go to class or not. After all, a lot of great minds in the past were self-taught.
Primary education:
It should prepare people to be able to self-teach. What basic knowledge do you need to teach yourself? Mostly reading (good writers usually read a lot) and logic (including math). Every highschool graduate should be able to recognze a logical fallacy when they see one. If you have logic and an understanding of language, you can learn the rest yourself.
I don't agree with Greenpeace's view on nuclear energy but calling them extremists and pretending that is some sort of valid critique is not okay. I hate the "extremist" argument. Extreme positions and the people that have them are not bad in themselves. At one point or another many great ideas have been extreme and unpopular.
You don't see a difference between unilaterally invading another country and unilaterally developing a scientific / technical project? Are there any international rules against what France did? With the US there was that whole UN Charter thing...
I don't think the popular use should determine "promotion" but do you guy really think more legal use than illegal in terms of bandwidth? That seems like wishful thinking.
This only shows the market wants full windows, not windows alternatives. This exemplifies the dangers of market intervention. A lot of time, it just ends up having wacky effects. There was a time to intervene with MS and MS has engaged in anti-competitive behavior, but this wasn't the time or issue to take them on.
Of course, my favorite net content tends to not be commercial.
... a noble vigilante. Vigilantes and justice just don't go together, unlike in the movies and comics. So even if you had all the equipment and training and could pay off the authorities to allow you to create your own justice, the abuse of your power would stop most people from thinking of you as a superhero.
Other countries doing terrible things is not a justification for US actions. Same reasoning comes up today when a terrorist cuts off someone's head and then flag-waivers use that as an some sort of justification for US wrongs.
There are better arguments for the use of the a-bomb, like ending the war earlier and saving lives that way or even crass realpolitik arguments that make more sense. But pointing to other wrongdoing is not helpful.
I've known people raised to never watch TV and to be outside and others who had cable tv / nintendo from a very early age and were allowed to watch as much as they wanted to. I think those without the limits turned out better. The ones who had artificial limits just seem less knowledgeable now. The ones who had freedom and who were smart moved beyond TV and nintendo, got bored, and moved into other interests yet have knowledge about popular culture. The ones who saw TV are surprisingly more creative. The ones who had TV sill read books and were often excellent students. (I was in the middle. To the extent I was given limits, I don't think I really benefitted from them.) I say expose your kids to a lot, and they'll find a nice balance themselves.
"Well it doesn't really matter what you think, because this guy actually researched it. His research is more important than your uninformed opinion. Not saying you're wrong, but I'm saying you don't know, so you cannot dismiss it."
Despite you saying he's not wrong, this sounds an awefully lot like an appeal to authority. "He's a researcher, so his opinion is more valuable than yours." BS. Analyze the person's arguments, not their pedigree. IF an AC shows this guy's research is flawed, then they CAN dismiss it.
"Sorry for becomming slightly off topic, but I hate political correctness."
Nothing wrong with political correctness. However, the merits of political correctness have no bearing on the validity of this guy's claim. A lot of people seem to be leaning towards that kind of thinking.
First of all, do they claim Ashkenazi were in the the Israel / Palestine area a couple thousand years ago and that they were part of the same population as Sephardic? How could their ethnic characteristics change so quickly? (It seems more likely that the Ashkenazi were Europeans that converted to Judiasm. Second, generally, isn't this asking for a lot of change in a short time period?
So what if they finally release it? I have to wait another eon for the replacement... no thanks. I'll look elsewhere for a better release cycle.