I have some small web apps that involve finding the value of a mathematical expression given the value of the variable of the expression. To do so in python (or perl or php) is trivial, just assign the variable the proper value and invoke eval(expression). How does one do this in C++?
Oh sure, if you want a free, open, cross-platform application that creates book-quality documents, go ahead and use LaTeX. But aside from that, why bother?
And how do we hold government officials accountable?
In this day and age of terrorist activities, computer virus, electronic theft, etc..., the government (FBI, CIA, etc...) they do need to do their jobs and our Free Speech and our Privacy are both going to have to bend when our security depends on it.
Why? What if our liberties are more valuable than our security?
You can't have it all, and certainly for those out there who have NOTHING to hide, who don't perform any criminal ventures, I doubt they care if Big Brother is watching over them.
I would like something more substantial than your doubt that the government is confining its attention to actual criminals.
So, as long as these agencies are truly accountable for their actions, we must let them do their jobs, I think that's really what this is all about. We may not like it, but then again, it is what it is.
Again, given the secrecy involved, how do we hold agencies accountable? Also, what is this "it" in your "it is what it is"?
Any disaster, crime that can be prevented, certainly we are all for that, no?
Typical government disregard for costs. We do not have an infinite anti-terror budget, so the cost of preventing one terrorist act may be the foregone opportunity to have prevented twenty others.
LaTeX source files are harder to parse than HTML, but one can embed a dvi viewer in a browser. It may be a bit of a stretch, but it's easier than waiting for MathML support, especially combining MathML with SVG.
Why is it that I can go to the library and check out physical copies of books for free, but I can't read them digitally over the internet for free? And yes, before everyone starts, I'm aware of the Gutenberg Project but basically these are all old works.
Because only one person can use a dead-tree copy of a book at a time, but many can simultaneously access an electronic copy on a public server.
This, of course, is exactly what the content producers don't want to happen.
Somehow, I did not fail to see the sarcasm in the new Star Wars movies. Of course, the "death" of the Old Republic, happened when the North conquered the South, in a war of aggression (not sure why they call it a civil war, since it was two federations fighting each other, one to conquer and subjugate, the other to maintain the right of its member states to be independent,
Oh where do I begin? Most people would consider the seizure of a nation's arsenals to be an act of war, which would make the Confederacy, not the Union, the aggressors. As for the "independence" of its member states, what about the independence of some million slaves in the Confederacy. The Union had some slave states, but did not make slavery the basis of its nationhood.
"a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state."
But in the case of free software, what is held in common? The rights to the software, perhaps, but not the individual copies thereof. I may use gcc without getting approval from the People's Committee for Software Development.
If you bought a physical object one of whose components was patented, would you still not own the object, even if someone else held the patent?
The Renaissance was stimulated by the Cartesian Philosophy . ..
Interesting, as Descartes was born in 1596, and the Renaissance started much earlier. Yes, that's nitpicking, but if you want me to read a 40-page PDF, you should get such things correct.
Slashdot Mirror
How well does Internet Explorer deal with MathML and SVG?
I have some small web apps that involve finding the value of a mathematical expression given the value of the variable of the expression. To do so in python (or perl or php) is trivial,
just assign the variable the proper value and invoke eval(expression). How does one do this in C++?
Oh sure, if you want a free, open, cross-platform application that creates book-quality documents, go ahead and use LaTeX. But aside from that, why bother?
1 hour = 3.6 kiloseconds (exact)
Am I the only one who reads this and thinks that because of microsoft strictly controlling this, this is a possible spawning ground for malware?
Fixed it for you
Ms. Fiorina was McCain's technology advisor. Would you suggest that President elect Obama replace Joe Biden with Sarah Palin?
As much as I can sympathize with that, there's still Donald Knuth.
So Linux fans can blame hardware manufacturers who don't release Linux drivers?
I just store my porn locally.
England? Don't you mean Airstrip One?
Napoleon: Monsieur Laplace, you have written a treatise about the solar system [Celestial Mechanics] without mentioning its author.
Laplace: Sire, I have no need of that hypothesis.
Accountability
And how do we hold government officials accountable?
In this day and age of terrorist activities, computer virus, electronic theft, etc..., the government (FBI, CIA, etc...) they do need to do their jobs and our Free Speech and our Privacy are both going to have to bend when our security depends on it.
Why? What if our liberties are more valuable than our security?
You can't have it all, and certainly for those out there who have NOTHING to hide, who don't perform any criminal ventures, I doubt they care if Big Brother is watching over them.
I would like something more substantial than your doubt that the government is confining its attention to actual criminals.
So, as long as these agencies are truly accountable for their actions, we must let them do their jobs, I think that's really what this is all about. We may not like it, but then again, it is what it is.
Again, given the secrecy involved, how do we hold agencies accountable? Also, what is this "it" in your "it is what it is"?
Any disaster, crime that can be prevented, certainly we are all for that, no?
Typical government disregard for costs. We do not have an infinite anti-terror budget, so the cost of preventing one terrorist act may be the foregone opportunity to have prevented twenty others.
What about this?
LaTeX source files are harder to parse than HTML, but one can embed a dvi viewer in a browser. It may be a bit of a stretch, but it's easier than waiting for MathML support, especially combining MathML with SVG.
Why do web designers feel the need to pick a particular font in the first place?
And don't use the "we'll become monsters too" excuse because it is based on Christian morality (because there is nothing special about humanity).
I would disagree that the "we'll become monsters too" claim requires religion.
Besides, he might have to use Windows for the rest of his life.
Why is it that I can go to the library and check out physical copies of books for free, but I can't read them digitally over the internet for free? And yes, before everyone starts, I'm aware of the Gutenberg Project but basically these are all old works.
Because only one person can use a dead-tree copy of a book at a time, but many can simultaneously access an electronic copy on a public server.
This, of course, is exactly what the content producers don't want to happen.
Yes, but I would also include the content owners.
Somehow, I did not fail to see the sarcasm in the new Star Wars movies. Of course, the "death" of the Old Republic, happened when the North conquered the South, in a war of aggression (not sure why they call it a civil war, since it was two federations fighting each other, one to conquer and subjugate, the other to maintain the right of its member states to be independent,
Oh where do I begin? Most people would consider the seizure of a nation's arsenals to be an act of war, which would make the Confederacy, not the Union, the aggressors. As for the "independence" of its member states, what about the independence of some million slaves in the Confederacy. The Union had some slave states, but did not make slavery the basis of its nationhood.
And if the popularity of PCs depended more on IBM's imprimatur? Or the progress in CPUs depended more on the competition between Intel and AMD?
And where would Microsoft be without the internet, whose basic software Microsoft had little to do with?
And what good is software without hardware?
"a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state."
But in the case of free software, what is held in common? The rights to the software, perhaps, but not the individual copies thereof. I may use gcc without getting approval from the People's Committee for Software Development.
If you bought a physical object one of whose components was patented, would you still not own the object, even if someone else held the patent?
See if she weighs the same as a duck?
Come on, now. I'm pretty sure the Gestapo knew how to break into houses and search them in secret.
If the author expects me to read a 40-page PDF, he better not state that Descartes influenced the Renaissance, which happened before he was born.
The Renaissance was stimulated by the Cartesian Philosophy . . .
Interesting, as Descartes was born in 1596, and the Renaissance started much earlier. Yes, that's nitpicking, but if you want me to read a 40-page PDF, you should get such things correct.