Most "non geeks" simply aren't going to relate well to your attitude and probably want a spinny disk.
The impression that I get from CronoCloud and others who post comments to Slashdot is that most non-geeks aren't going to want to use a TV as a computer monitor. Instead, they'll continue to watch BD movies on their dedicated consumer electronics appliances.
I WANT A SPINNY DISK!! - What does a spinny disk do?
Programming is not a black art. Its simply what do you want to build, what is the best technology to the task, and build a plan/strategy for controlling risk and project creeps...
Wish we could control a few of the creeps in our project......
For Googling on a CLI-only server I recommend a text-based browser. I've been using lynx since the days I was a student (longer ago than I'd like to admit).
***important notice - my opinions only, definitely do not get your knickers in a not over it*****
I think iPads are well made, look cute and will continue to sell well but anecdotally every user I've seen so far (this is mainly on flights between cities in Australia) spends their time "fiddling" -e.g. stretching, spinning etc then putting it down on their laps (alright, I admit it, a few have actually been playing games! - but not for long for some reason, does it get uncomfortable holding the tablet and play a game? Are games more suited to more traditional input devices rather than gestures? ), this is a severe turnoff for me.
I have seen several people using e-book readers...reading.
Anyone with a notebook open tend to work on spreadsheets and word documents (flights are mainly about an hour long, Sydney - Brisbane, Sydney - Melbourne, so too short for movie watching).
The iPad can do a reasonable job as a reader but none I've seen has used it as such, I would have thought game playing would a strong suit too but the majority seem preoccupied with the gestures thing (possibly new toys?).
I use my notebook for programming, but in my last few flights I have been watching Summer of nHibernate videos, I can see that a tablet would do a better job for watching these on a flight but that would mean I can't pause, switch to VS and try out what is being done then swap back - yes, clumsy way of working but limited space on a flight - each episode is about an hour long so perfect for the flight btw -and I enjoy it, earphones provided by the carrier too...), it is difinitely not feasible to have both going and I need my notebook with me so the iPad does not suit me (dual screen at home), Couch surfing might be OK for the iPad though.
I hope tablets are given added functionality in the future as I can see the possibilities with their form factor and battery life, it would be great to plug a keyboad in when needed, have a slot for a decent sized SSD, more grunt etc (or the price is halved... no, I'd still need to carry two things to do ostensibly one job, the shortcomings of a tablet are greater than the shortcomings of a notebook in my situation) but I suspect I'm not part of the target market so I won't hold my breath while I wait.
I expected you knew Tokyo was 250 km away, I'm more interested in areas closer to the reactor -and if levels are higher where you live, how close is the nearest reactor? I was trying to point out that it would be very surprising if levels were high in Tokyo given it's distance from the site so why bother giving us readings from there? How about readings from places closer (Minamisoma, Tokai, Mito etc).
Yes, I'm aware of the possibility that the US said "go to it" (and the slant drilling practices employed by Kuwait) but my attitude is an invasion is an invasion regardless of who says it's fine by me. The US does not have the jurisdiction to decide such things - they may have the power to enforce things either way but trust them at your own peril, the primary interest of the US is the US.
If this even has shown me anything, it's that people suck on the tit of fear, and fear mongering and disregard even anything approaching common sense, or fact.
Having to use plastic knives and forks on planes, not being allowed to bring your own drinks on board, having nail files confiscated as dangerous weapons, having an army of proctologists waiting for you at airports etc hasn't already taught you that?
On a more sobering thought, they are finding evidence of foods being contaminated by radiation, they are reporting low levels so let us hope they are being open and not down-playing risks. If the pumps come into use, they should hopefully be able to bring things under control but I imagine that area will be quarantined for a few decades so families will need assistance in re-establishing their lives in a different area (the tsunami meant people were going to need to build anyway but I would have thought on their own land).
Oh, you do know Tokyo is 250 km away? what is the reading say 50 km from the site? I would be surprised if it were very high but it narks me that everything is always about the larger centres - we had floods in Australia recently (Queensland) and although Brisbane is getting a lot of assistance (which I'm thankful for), the areas hardest hit don't seem to rate.
You mean like the 16 UN resolutions Saddam ignored? Like the UN inspectors he kicked out of the country? Like when he gassed his own people?
Sadly when Saddam was gassing his own people, we were all looking the other way. Other countries have ignore UN resolutions, UN resolutions rely on 5 countries agreeing, it is not neccessarily the will of the majority.
I think we should have removed Saddam with desert storm but - as usual it seems - politics won the day and stopped the war before the job was finished. The argument that it would have fractured the alliance and the west would be busy running Iraq (according to Bush and Cheney) are, in my opinion, rather flimsy.
I was and still am against the second war in Iraq. The people are a lot worse off, fundamentalists have moved in, Iran is sitting in the box seat regarding influence there and the country is rife with corruption (I know - pot, meet kettle). An invasion of a country justifies military intervention (Iraq and Kuwait) - Purported possession of "WMDs" does not (imo).
Regarding Gadaffi, I believe removing the dictator is long overdue but I hope we (the west - or any other "interested party" for that matter) are not busy selecting who the winner of their "free and fair" election is.
Judging by your hysterical post you should have a cup of camomille tea and relax.
If you would like to know what has failed, there is at least one containment chamber that has been breached, a blessing at the moment is that winds are blowing the contaminants to sea but they are expecting the wind direction to change.
Several of the plants are overheating and if they cannot get them under control, the likely outcome is meltdowns in multiple plants.
The US, UK and France have asked all nationals to evacuate Tokyo (which has registered increased levels of radiation - small increase apparently but increased none the less) which is about 250 km away.
How many people have died as a result of radiation exposure? I think 4 (workers at the plant but the company and government aren't forthcoming as to what happened to them) it is still too early to know if people have been exposed or will be exposed but please be aware that it is a definite possibility as radiation is leaking out already so being concerned by it is not blind panic (if I were living in the 30 km zone, I would be leaving ASAP as a precaution).
There is a real likelyhood that three reactors will melt down. I believe this is a troubling thing and does not show that nuclear power is safe. I also believe that modern nuclear power plants would be safer but that is mitigated by my lack of trust and repect of governments and big business (acquired from years of lies and deception by them - not all of them though, hence only a lack of trust and respect).
Maybe you should consider that you responded to a post from yesterday, when perhaps at the time what he said was the most recent information.
The way you phrased your post led me to believe you were certain the containment chambers would "contain" any possible risks. I suspect we are in agreement that nuclear power plants CAN be safe, where we might disagree is I do not trust governments and businesses to put people before profit - that plant should have been retired this year but they somehow got a 10 year extension despite failures and deception over maintenance.The IAEA are quite comfortable with extending lifespans of reactors too.
It's funny because what is happening in Japan is exactly why Nuclear Power is SAFE!
An earthquake 7 times more powerful than the biggest it was built for hit, and all that happened to the reactors that didn't shut down cleanly was a small amount of radioactive noble gases, which decay within minutes. Even if the cores DO melt, they're safely contained in... wait for it... containment chambers!
People don't realize the amount of engineering that goes into nuclear to make it safe.
Fukushima workers withdraw after radiation spikes "A part of the containment vessel is broken and it seems like the vapour is coming out from there. So... [it] appears to be that vapour is coming out from the broken part."
Your faith in the containment chambers seems misplaced.
Nuclear power MAY be ok but cost-wise and risk-wise (in the event of an unforseen incident), proliferation-wise, I personally have serious reservations.
An earthquake 7 times more powerful than the biggest it was built for hit, and all that happened to the reactors that didn't shut down cleanly was a small amount of radioactive noble gases, which decay within minutes. Even if the cores DO melt, they're safely contained in... wait for it... containment chambers!
No but the uranium and thorium found in the coal and which gets sent up into the air with the smoke from burning coal is...
I hear this a lot, googled it and...
Excerpt:
McBride and his co-authors estimated that individuals living near coal-fired installations are exposed to a maximum of 1.9 millirems of fly ash radiation yearly. To put these numbers in perspective, the average person encounters 360 millirems of annual "background radiation" from natural and man-made sources, including substances in Earth's crust, cosmic rays, residue from nuclear tests and smoke detectors.
Dana Christensen, associate lab director for energy and engineering at ORNL, says that health risks from radiation in coal by-products are low. "Other risks like being hit by lightning," he adds, "are three or four times greater than radiation-induced health effects from coal plants." And McBride and his co-authors emphasize that other products of coal power, like emissions of acid rain–producing sulfur dioxide and smog-forming nitrous oxide, pose greater health risks than radiation.
The biggest issues with coal fired imo are acid rain, greenhouse gases (not sold on "scrubbers), quantity required to generate the power we need.
Preference is definitely to be far away from both - but further from a nuke one.
You haven't really answered martin-boundary, I think you are saying you would rather live near a modern nuclear plant than a modern coal fired one - is that right?
The story here is not that a power plant was damaged and might release toxic material. It's that everyone is going bugnuts crazy about that when entire towns are inundated and/or on fire.
The story is actually about explosions in one nuclear power plant, residents warned to stay indoors, turn off air conditioners, not to drink the tap water. If they have to go outside, to cover up completely, wear a mask and cover their face with a wet towel. Radiation released per hour is more than the recommended limit for humans per year. Obligatory link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/12/3162450.htm
And how much data do you want to consider it enough?
I generally find it enough when the results agree with my beliefs - all data analysis on the topic should stop at that point. I also believe any data that does not conform to my beliefs is not to be believed as it is part of a global conspiracy against truth, justice and superman's cute undies./bigotry
A more useful system, IMHO, would be one that automatically logged off every PC in a room after a motion detector noted a period of inactivity. We do have issues where people leave for the day, go into another area or just close the door and leave systems up. That's a much bigger attack surface than leaving a PC logged in with 8 other employees wandering around.
That's true for some situations but a lot of the time companies are more concerned employees don't "see" information they are not cleared for (payroll, contracts etc) or place requisitions using someone else's ID. Users with different levels of clearance / departments share work areas in a lot of companies (open plan offices were tres chic for a while) plus a lot of software uses audit stamps to track who entered/edited what.
Ultimately, I suspect the users will defeat any attempt at "security" if the measure hinders them (complex passwords that end up on sticky notes stuck next to keyboards, swipe cards left next to workstations, secure doors taped open... usual stuff).
Although if this gadget just locks the workstation and a finger print swipe can unlock it instead of keying in a complex password or having to rummage around for your swipe card... nah, it still requires additional effort.
Plenty of countries have complied with what the US has done and/or done the same. If you are leaving to somewhere better may my family and I ride in your rocketship with you?
It's simple math. If there aren't enough young people to care for the old people you either need to import more young people or find another solution. What that solution is I don't know, but robots were at least a legit attempt.
Slashdot Mirror
I studied the accident and I am a Nuclear Engineer.
On internet forums, when talking nukular, EVERYONE is a nuclear engineer. Trust me I know - I am God.
Most "non geeks" simply aren't going to relate well to your attitude and probably want a spinny disk.
The impression that I get from CronoCloud and others who post comments to Slashdot is that most non-geeks aren't going to want to use a TV as a computer monitor. Instead, they'll continue to watch BD movies on their dedicated consumer electronics appliances.
I WANT A SPINNY DISK!! - What does a spinny disk do?
Programming is not a black art. Its simply what do you want to build, what is the best technology to the task, and build a plan/strategy for controlling risk and project creeps...
Wish we could control a few of the creeps in our project......
For Googling on a CLI-only server I recommend a text-based browser. I've been using lynx since the days I was a student (longer ago than I'd like to admit).
I prefer links.
***important notice - my opinions only, definitely do not get your knickers in a not over it*****
I think iPads are well made, look cute and will continue to sell well but anecdotally every user I've seen so far (this is mainly on flights between cities in Australia) spends their time "fiddling" -e.g. stretching, spinning etc then putting it down on their laps (alright, I admit it, a few have actually been playing games! - but not for long for some reason, does it get uncomfortable holding the tablet and play a game? Are games more suited to more traditional input devices rather than gestures? ), this is a severe turnoff for me.
I have seen several people using e-book readers...reading.
Anyone with a notebook open tend to work on spreadsheets and word documents (flights are mainly about an hour long, Sydney - Brisbane, Sydney - Melbourne, so too short for movie watching).
The iPad can do a reasonable job as a reader but none I've seen has used it as such, I would have thought game playing would a strong suit too but the majority seem preoccupied with the gestures thing (possibly new toys?).
I use my notebook for programming, but in my last few flights I have been watching Summer of nHibernate videos, I can see that a tablet would do a better job for watching these on a flight but that would mean I can't pause, switch to VS and try out what is being done then swap back - yes, clumsy way of working but limited space on a flight - each episode is about an hour long so perfect for the flight btw -and I enjoy it, earphones provided by the carrier too...), it is difinitely not feasible to have both going and I need my notebook with me so the iPad does not suit me (dual screen at home), Couch surfing might be OK for the iPad though.
I hope tablets are given added functionality in the future as I can see the possibilities with their form factor and battery life, it would be great to plug a keyboad in when needed, have a slot for a decent sized SSD, more grunt etc (or the price is halved... no, I'd still need to carry two things to do ostensibly one job, the shortcomings of a tablet are greater than the shortcomings of a notebook in my situation) but I suspect I'm not part of the target market so I won't hold my breath while I wait.
I refuse to accept the GoldWing as a bike, it might have two wheels but the similarity surely ends there.
How much did you pay the guys to hold you down?
Yes, I wonder what God thinks about this whole issue.
God three letters.... RMS three letters.... coincidence?
I expected you knew Tokyo was 250 km away, I'm more interested in areas closer to the reactor -and if levels are higher where you live, how close is the nearest reactor? I was trying to point out that it would be very surprising if levels were high in Tokyo given it's distance from the site so why bother giving us readings from there? How about readings from places closer (Minamisoma, Tokai, Mito etc).
Yes, I'm aware of the possibility that the US said "go to it" (and the slant drilling practices employed by Kuwait) but my attitude is an invasion is an invasion regardless of who says it's fine by me. The US does not have the jurisdiction to decide such things - they may have the power to enforce things either way but trust them at your own peril, the primary interest of the US is the US.
If this even has shown me anything, it's that people suck on the tit of fear, and fear mongering and disregard even anything approaching common sense, or fact.
Having to use plastic knives and forks on planes, not being allowed to bring your own drinks on board, having nail files confiscated as dangerous weapons, having an army of proctologists waiting for you at airports etc hasn't already taught you that?
On a more sobering thought, they are finding evidence of foods being contaminated by radiation, they are reporting low levels so let us hope they are being open and not down-playing risks. If the pumps come into use, they should hopefully be able to bring things under control but I imagine that area will be quarantined for a few decades so families will need assistance in re-establishing their lives in a different area (the tsunami meant people were going to need to build anyway but I would have thought on their own land).
Oh, you do know Tokyo is 250 km away? what is the reading say 50 km from the site? I would be surprised if it were very high but it narks me that everything is always about the larger centres - we had floods in Australia recently (Queensland) and although Brisbane is getting a lot of assistance (which I'm thankful for), the areas hardest hit don't seem to rate.
You mean like the 16 UN resolutions Saddam ignored? Like the UN inspectors he kicked out of the country? Like when he gassed his own people?
Sadly when Saddam was gassing his own people, we were all looking the other way. Other countries have ignore UN resolutions, UN resolutions rely on 5 countries agreeing, it is not neccessarily the will of the majority.
I think we should have removed Saddam with desert storm but - as usual it seems - politics won the day and stopped the war before the job was finished. The argument that it would have fractured the alliance and the west would be busy running Iraq (according to Bush and Cheney) are, in my opinion, rather flimsy.
I was and still am against the second war in Iraq. The people are a lot worse off, fundamentalists have moved in, Iran is sitting in the box seat regarding influence there and the country is rife with corruption (I know - pot, meet kettle). An invasion of a country justifies military intervention (Iraq and Kuwait) - Purported possession of "WMDs" does not (imo).
Regarding Gadaffi, I believe removing the dictator is long overdue but I hope we (the west - or any other "interested party" for that matter) are not busy selecting who the winner of their "free and fair" election is.
Judging by your hysterical post you should have a cup of camomille tea and relax.
If you would like to know what has failed, there is at least one containment chamber that has been breached, a blessing at the moment is that winds are blowing the contaminants to sea but they are expecting the wind direction to change.
Several of the plants are overheating and if they cannot get them under control, the likely outcome is meltdowns in multiple plants.
The US, UK and France have asked all nationals to evacuate Tokyo (which has registered increased levels of radiation - small increase apparently but increased none the less) which is about 250 km away. How many people have died as a result of radiation exposure? I think 4 (workers at the plant but the company and government aren't forthcoming as to what happened to them) it is still too early to know if people have been exposed or will be exposed but please be aware that it is a definite possibility as radiation is leaking out already so being concerned by it is not blind panic (if I were living in the 30 km zone, I would be leaving ASAP as a precaution).
There is a real likelyhood that three reactors will melt down. I believe this is a troubling thing and does not show that nuclear power is safe. I also believe that modern nuclear power plants would be safer but that is mitigated by my lack of trust and repect of governments and big business (acquired from years of lies and deception by them - not all of them though, hence only a lack of trust and respect).
Maybe you should consider that you responded to a post from yesterday, when perhaps at the time what he said was the most recent information.
The way you phrased your post led me to believe you were certain the containment chambers would "contain" any possible risks. I suspect we are in agreement that nuclear power plants CAN be safe, where we might disagree is I do not trust governments and businesses to put people before profit - that plant should have been retired this year but they somehow got a 10 year extension despite failures and deception over maintenance.The IAEA are quite comfortable with extending lifespans of reactors too.
It's funny because what is happening in Japan is exactly why Nuclear Power is SAFE!
An earthquake 7 times more powerful than the biggest it was built for hit, and all that happened to the reactors that didn't shut down cleanly was a small amount of radioactive noble gases, which decay within minutes. Even if the cores DO melt, they're safely contained in ... wait for it... containment chambers!
People don't realize the amount of engineering that goes into nuclear to make it safe.
Fukushima workers withdraw after radiation spikes
"A part of the containment vessel is broken and it seems like the vapour is coming out from there. So... [it] appears to be that vapour is coming out from the broken part."
Your faith in the containment chambers seems misplaced.
Nuclear power MAY be ok but cost-wise and risk-wise (in the event of an unforseen incident), proliferation-wise, I personally have serious reservations.
An earthquake 7 times more powerful than the biggest it was built for hit, and all that happened to the reactors that didn't shut down cleanly was a small amount of radioactive noble gases, which decay within minutes. Even if the cores DO melt, they're safely contained in ... wait for it... containment chambers!
Workers evacuated amid fresh nuke threat.
I suggest you might be more comfortable if you remove your foot from your mouth.
No but the uranium and thorium found in the coal and which gets sent up into the air with the smoke from burning coal is...
I hear this a lot, googled it and...
Excerpt: McBride and his co-authors estimated that individuals living near coal-fired installations are exposed to a maximum of 1.9 millirems of fly ash radiation yearly. To put these numbers in perspective, the average person encounters 360 millirems of annual "background radiation" from natural and man-made sources, including substances in Earth's crust, cosmic rays, residue from nuclear tests and smoke detectors. Dana Christensen, associate lab director for energy and engineering at ORNL, says that health risks from radiation in coal by-products are low. "Other risks like being hit by lightning," he adds, "are three or four times greater than radiation-induced health effects from coal plants." And McBride and his co-authors emphasize that other products of coal power, like emissions of acid rain–producing sulfur dioxide and smog-forming nitrous oxide, pose greater health risks than radiation.
The biggest issues with coal fired imo are acid rain, greenhouse gases (not sold on "scrubbers), quantity required to generate the power we need. Preference is definitely to be far away from both - but further from a nuke one.
The thing to also be alarmed about is the lying and cover-ups that has been going on over there with their nuclear plants.
more explosions and a no fly zone now imposed does not sound like a safe environment.
You haven't really answered martin-boundary, I think you are saying you would rather live near a modern nuclear plant than a modern coal fired one - is that right?
The story here is not that a power plant was damaged and might release toxic material. It's that everyone is going bugnuts crazy about that when entire towns are inundated and/or on fire.
The story is actually about explosions in one nuclear power plant, residents warned to stay indoors, turn off air conditioners, not to drink the tap water. If they have to go outside, to cover up completely, wear a mask and cover their face with a wet towel. Radiation released per hour is more than the recommended limit for humans per year. Obligatory link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/12/3162450.htm
And how much data do you want to consider it enough?
I generally find it enough when the results agree with my beliefs - all data analysis on the topic should stop at that point. I also believe any data that does not conform to my beliefs is not to be believed as it is part of a global conspiracy against truth, justice and superman's cute undies. /bigotry
A more useful system, IMHO, would be one that automatically logged off every PC in a room after a motion detector noted a period of inactivity. We do have issues where people leave for the day, go into another area or just close the door and leave systems up. That's a much bigger attack surface than leaving a PC logged in with 8 other employees wandering around.
That's true for some situations but a lot of the time companies are more concerned employees don't "see" information they are not cleared for (payroll, contracts etc) or place requisitions using someone else's ID. Users with different levels of clearance / departments share work areas in a lot of companies (open plan offices were tres chic for a while) plus a lot of software uses audit stamps to track who entered /edited what.
Ultimately, I suspect the users will defeat any attempt at "security" if the measure hinders them (complex passwords that end up on sticky notes stuck next to keyboards, swipe cards left next to workstations, secure doors taped open... usual stuff).
Although if this gadget just locks the workstation and a finger print swipe can unlock it instead of keying in a complex password or having to rummage around for your swipe card... nah, it still requires additional effort.
Hoes, hoes, hoes, hoes?
Plenty of countries have complied with what the US has done and/or done the same. If you are leaving to somewhere better may my family and I ride in your rocketship with you?
Either you're with us or you're with the terrorists - GWB.
I read that as a threat that the world will do as it is told - or else. Complied is an apt word.
It's simple math. If there aren't enough young people to care for the old people you either need to import more young people or find another solution. What that solution is I don't know, but robots were at least a legit attempt.
Soylent Green.