I think you have a valid concern for most parts of the world. However, I think GB does have a consistent record of violating their peoples rights for their saftey. One such saftey factor actually might make this a little bit better than the situation you describe above though... that is GB's TOUGH gun laws...
Re:Forget vaccuming.. how about mowing the lawn?
on
Cool Personal Robots
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· Score: 2
Well, UF developed one, but I can't say that it's snazzy and such... Plus university students rarely produce mass quantities of such a device...
But, I'm not giving up hope. No, for there is a company once mighty in just matters of the chainsaw... now they too have the mower for nerds.. is now we turn to Husqvarna!
Ok, in an attempt to skew the statistics... I entered in some "nerd" fields
CD: Redhat 6.1 (it didn't qualify as a game) Movie: Tron Boad Game: Mindtraps Video Game: Pong (just to iritate everyone else) Music Video: Weird Al's Amish Paradise ('nuf said) Books: Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series) Snack Food: Swedish Fish and Jolt Gadget: Abio (well I don't have one but I can dream - and mine certainly wouldn't be a toy) Toy: SGI Onyx2 Workstation (trust me it could only be a toy for me)
I look at this as a lesser of evils, do I fear the evil of Microsoft squeezing other businesses, or do I fear stupid pattents more?
Honestly, I fear stupid pattents more. While I disagree with the ethics of MSFTs usual tactic of "if we can't buy you we'll copy and under-price you and trample all over you", I don't disagree with the practice of competing products.
If MSFT develops a similar product they have the right to market it. They do NOT have the right to say "sell us your company or be crushed." They do NOT have the right to say "stop persuing this type of business." They do NOT have the right to say "we're going to make sure no one does business with you." They do have the right to compeete fairly.
The problem with pattent law is, if we don't attempt to reform it soon, there won't be many companies left to fight the legal battles necessary to reform it. (It WILL become even a larger problem).
We do a lot of utility work... in the sort of places no one really wants to think about (under New York City) We don't use traditional PCs, but we do use traditional pc parts (or at least traditional boards, usually with a few specailty boards. You could probably mount traditional pc parts (including the power supply) in one of the industrial cases we use - with the understanding of a couple of things... you can't run a hot processor, you have to have massive heat sinks and it takes a lot of testing and time to do it right... Think "low-end Linux box" not "quake machine."
The cases (er cabinets) we buy are pretty darn rugged (i.e. waterproof, very heat resistant, pretty resistant to shock, etc).
Now keep in mind, all external openings (for cords and etc) need to be tapped and all internal components need to be mounted in some way.
Well here's a plug for the people we buy from: Contact information Stahlin Fiberglass (a Division of ROBROY Industries) Belding Division Belding, Michigan 48809
Phone (616)794-0700
However, that's just for a PC... I hadn't even considered a monitor. If you're expecting to put in a monitor and stuff like that... it gets a lot more expensive and difficult... now what you're talking is purchasing industrial grade PCs...
Now you might be talking purchasing something from Xycom Automation. But, most of these are also flat/touchscreens ($$cha-ching$$) and once again come preloaded with DOS/95/NT. I don't know about Linux drivers for those... However if you look around enough you will find a lot of machinery does run with some form of *NIX (to avoid the reliability problems of MS)
I know very little about DVD (as I don't have one on my computer at home, and there is no need for them at work...) I have a few questions:
#1. How much can a DVD hold? (lots yeah, but how much)
#2. What is the difference between a dvd and a cd?
#3. This shows how fast super CD (or whatever its called) can access info, but how fast can a DVD player? (ie are you really gaining a useful meadium or just a big storage device)
After Holloween a bunch of co-workers and I were sitting around the lunch table. I happened to bring some left over candy that the kids didn't take the night before. One of the guys picked up a milkyway bar and noticed the words "MAY CONTAIN PEANUTS" clearly written on the label. Directly below was the phone number. He called. They informed him that this is a warning specifically to people who are allergic to peanuts. The machine used to make Milkyway is also used to produce another product (which the company would not mention - snickers I assume) that contains peanuts. While they (mars?) clean the machine thoroughly after every use, they were afraid of trace residues causing trouble for someone with an exteeme alergy --> hence the warning. They sent him a book of free coupons... It was a good chuckle for us, it was a good chuckle for them...
I used to be quite skeptical about unified theory, but then I read the Fabric Of Reality and I was just as lost, but even more interested.
It gives good justification to the thought that it is now impossible to know everything, however, it will be possible to understand everything... pretty freaking fascinating...
I mean come on... this freedom stuff is for the birds. What we really need is a good dosage of big brother to make us happy. How do I know? Big brother told me so. That's good enough reason for me.
So, I think that this is a really good first step. Now every packet I have can be monitored and checked. Honestly, I don't care if they do it to me whether I am a criminal or a working class person. Its all just fine with me. Don't think of it as the FBI or the NSA eavesdropping, think of it as your own personal entourage. Every thing I do, whether I type or I talk on the telephone, they can listen to me. That doesn't sound bad... Its comforting really, like the AT&T commercials, but without having to pay for long distance.
Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to get a barcode stamped on me, or maybe a subdermal implant, either way - if it helps the NSA or the FBI catch the bad guys, it must be a good thing. After all, the FBI and the NSA are the good guys, they would never use any information in an illegal fashion. That is important to me.
Sure their history may house a, well, a few tarnishing events, but that's ok. Everybody makes mistakes, lets not penalize them for that... that would be... unfair, and we want to be fair.
See, I will gladly be compliant... Niether the FBI nor the CIA, nor the NSA have anything to fear from me. I will gladly be a sheep.
FACT n 1: a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred; "first you must collect all the facts of the case" 2: a statement or assertion of verified information about something that is the case or has happened; "he supported his argument with an impressive array of facts" 3: an event known to have happened or something known to have existed; "your fears have no basis in fact" "how much of the story is fact and how much fiction is hard to tell" 4: a concept whose truth can be proved; "scientific hypotheses are not facts" (from ftp://clarity.princeton.edu/pub/wordnet/wn1.6unix. tar.gz)
The term "Finding of Fact" (FoF) means that what is stated is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (so help it....).
This means a few things. #1. Microsoft can not argue the facts (i.e. continue to plead the case). They have been stated and found. These facts are admissable in higher courts of law. Any judgements will be based off of the facts given and maybe some additional facts if a higher judge is feeling nice. Microsoft may only appeal the decision the judge makes (calling it unfair), they cannot change the facts.
the FoF is to the Ken Star report as (I predict) the ruling will be to the impeachment decision. The appeals will act just like the Senate. If the appeal is worthy, then Microsoft will be known as the monopoly that got away, just like Clinton is known as the guy who got impeached but got away with it. If Microsoft does not escape the appeals process, then whatever...
So what does this ramble say?
If you disagree with the verdict, you are wrong. There has been no verdict! You can speculate now, you can dream, but there are no more arguements to make until a verdict is rendered. Period.
So, hypothosize as to whether Microsoft will be broken up, think about whether they should be fined or slaped or chained in a basement. Regardless - these are the facts, these cannot be disagreed with.
- Forge a check and I loose $50 bucks - Forge a letter and more than likely, a notery will get you off. - Forge a document and more than liklely it will be caught (lengthy court possible, but usually a notery can tell)
Now: - Forge a digital signature and: Have my credit card statements ( anyone been to www.discover.com, or www.visa.com, or www.....) Have my credit card numbers Purchase a 35'ft replica of a viking ship on E-Bay (as the theif) Claim that someone has stolen your identy and may try to get back in touch with (whomever) doles out the digital sig... thus making things long and hard
Yes, you have no obiligation to sign all of your documents with your digital signature, but tell that to the people who send you stuff regardless. Remeber: whether you choose to use something or turn a blind eye to it doesn't mean it exists...
Its like rapping a towel around your head so the alien won't eat you... funny, good in a kids story, but not practical.
While this is progress, I'm not sure if this is progress forward (at least at this time). IMHO, this is this suffers from the same fundemental flaws as online voting:
1. The general public does not understand the implications of sharing a password with a friend. 2. Without forcing restrictions on the rights of the internet citizens as a whole (bad idea), it becomes extreemely difficult to enforce violations of this (i.e. someone from some other country impersonates you). 3. Script-kiddies ('nuff said) 4. In reference to warranties: (I'm going out on a limb) The ability to alter/change electronic information after the fact, a-la "Rising Sun" (maybe a 1 1/2 star movie) may be easier for companies rather than deal with "problems". 5. Sending things to people via a digital signature (as opposed to ceritfied mail) relies on the receiver being able to keep a copy of in case of a hard drive crash. 5b. Windows (controlling over 80% of the market - mac included) Crashes - lots.
Well, try not to tear it completely apart... but thats some of the flaws I see.
Wow. Normally/. readers have a lot of interesting stuff to say... or at least some interesting ideas. Even if I disagree with them... wow... This is ridiculous... a lot of you out there are just completely unaware about this... that is pretty sad.
How many/. readers think that knowing computers is a necessity in the 21st century (heck even today). How many/.ers think that every man woman and child should have some level of computer literacy. How many/.ers think that the internet is going to become an integral part of every-day life to every single human (eventually)? How many slashdotters realize that there are people with disabilites people out in cyberspace who have yet another obstacle to overcome with the internet?
Get out from your cubes, look around, you will find tons of resources for people with disabiliies on the web...Here are just a few.
For those of you who are not curious enogh to read through some of the design specifications on webable (probably the best I listed), you have to understand where people with disabilities are coming from.
For starters, they are PEOPLE - first and foremost. Like all people, they have the right to go to any public place they would like to - including on the internet...
Gasp! yes, there are people with disabilities - even vision disabilites who can type. Just think, they can find their way to the bathroom every morning, they can make themselves, breakfast, and - Gasp - they can even use a computer. For the first time people with disabilities are getting to interact on a large scale as equals...
or not...
A large number of high profile pages have begun to use more and more graphics, which #1 take a long time to download #2 are sometimes improperly used to convey a essage #3 frequenlty over-enhance a web page for difficult manuvering. #4 hide content, block content, and otherwise convey different content than the rest of the page.
In addition, most standard screen readers (what people with visual disabilities often use in conjunction with a browser) cannot read drawn words - but they can read accompanying captions - something which many web developers have begun leaving out...
So here's what we've said to the comunity of people with disabilites: Here, have access to the web, have resources, have all kinds of stuff... but any of the cool stuff - that's just for us "normal" people.
Do I think that AOL should be the one sued? Probably not. However, someone as highly visible as AOL needs to smarten up and take the initiative to help people with disabilites. Someone like AOL though _does_ make an effort to create a family environment (though I still despise them). The sad thing is - if your family has a person with visual disabilities, your out of luck.
Ok, sure building a really tiny gate is cool and all, but the question is: of what use is this?
Sure it may be tiny, but if it can't make a state transition fast enough to keep up with today's silicon - forget it.
Yes, smaller may be better for Place and Route, but what about the REALLY important stuff like - timing. (ok, the guy does P&R for a living, begin your rant). I'll argue that there are more time critical hardware designs than size critical hardware designs, but correct me if I'm wrong. Faster is better than smaller.
...since a bunch has already been said, but here is something a lot of us might be forgetting - at least in the US market.
Lets look at both the average consumer and the large corporation.
Most households which would buy a computer have bought a computer. My parents finally put a 286, bought in '90, to rest and bought a new computer. They were happy with it, it did everything they wanted and finally stuff started to die and they - finally - bought a new one.
when I was home during breaks and holidays through college, teaching them how to use a computer was one thing, now they are re-learing absolutely everything and I'm 1,000 away working - it is a whole hellova lot harder...
Anyways, what's my point. The average household has purchased a computer by now and they expect to get a bunch of years out of it - not the six months propellor heads (like me) expect to get out of a machine. My parents had their computer for almost nine years. They, like most computer quasi-pseudo-non-literate people see a really fancy TV when they look at a computer. They expect it to last them about 9 years... Yes, now they are on the internet, and yes they now find it really cool, but there is little technology has to offer them in terms of hardware that their Pentium III-450 (or even if they had only a Pentium I-166) would not be able to offer them. They are not writing code, making cad drawings, or playing quake 'til 3AM or their eyes fall out (which ever comes first). They, like most America, has what it needs - something to surf the webwith, something to do their taxes on, and something to play solitare with (since everyone knows you can't use a real deck of cards anymore).
They will not purchase an Anthalon.
From the business side...
Businesses just finished dumping money into Y2K compliance for every single system. In most cases, desktops which posed a possible threat to Y2K compliance were chucked, and computers were upgraded. Businesses spent the capital on absolutely everyhing. Here's a hint - only tech industries need the latest and the greatest machinery, and they probably don't really either.
What I'm saying once again, is that expect not too too many Anthalons to be bought for corporations (or at least not as many as AMD would LIKE to be bought).
What does this really mean? Hardware has fast outgrown itself - dangerously. While I hate marketing -especially intels, intel has recognized this and has worked to establish a desire to still upgrade (don't get on the internet, get into it). At best, people with early pentiums and late 486s will buy it and donate their old ones to good will (oh yeah and avid gamers will chuck theirs too, and try to sell their old crap on ebay - since they have to have the latest and greatest pc).
What I'm talking here is at best trickle down economics for PCs. The ones who loose are the chip manufacturers - hands down.
So, if AMD is banking everyting on the Anthalon, kiss them goodbye. If intel thinks that their going to continue to get a better market share - guess again. If a tech recession is going to happen, this is where it will start.
I remember a friend of mine in college ran a shareware program on his NT box called waterfall. If basically examined commands being handled by the CPU and identified any waits and changed inserted halts. I could make a strong arguement for this being on any other system. It slowed things down - a little - and if I remember it was a memory hog, but it turned his 123 degree processor (digital thermometer stuck on CPU told us so) to around a 92 or so degree processor. His room was south facing dorm during the summer. He also stole those silver blankets people wear after running marathons and covered his window. But he also was overclocking his machines from 200 to 266 MHz to contribute to heat problems.
I didn't run it, I don't know where he got it, and really I don't even know where to start looking for it... but I was curious if anyone else had ever seen it, used it, and/or found out why it never made it big.
Try keeping your laptop on standby all the time. Even if it doesn't drain your batteries, you still have to wait for it to come up to speed before you begin to launch your application of choice.
1) Turn on your laptop at the beginning of class 2) Purchase a second battery to recharge at night. Use power cords when available. 3) Why carry notebooks if you bring a laptop? (and I'll concede a palm as well) Through school I used my textbook in class with only two teachers, and that was because they taught strictly from the book. 1 laptop replaces 1 book bag. 4) I'm either going to take a bunch of notes, or I'm going to take very, very few. If I turn it on, a LT is on for the duration, if I have to wait a few seconds for it to come from standby...oh well.
Sorry, last time I checked Lotus Notes was still a desktop app. You're still bound to standard Windows conventions.
While I may not like it, you may not like it, and every other/. er may not like it, running windows is not a crime. A throw laptop aint a bad thing. We use them all the time for serial communications testing.
Palms don't crash, either.
Of this I am skeptical, but I will concede to you wh is much more of an expert on it... Personally I find this fascinating, and that alone should be their selling point.
But they don't run Linux, you say?
(this is only in good humor) So. big whoop...niether does my toaster. =)
Apparently the marketplace knows better than you do.
I never disagreed with whether people bought them or not, but DUH, ofcourse I know that people buy them. I disagreed with whether people really need them, or need that much information. Comfort does not equal better. Desire does not mean good. Just because I want to have everything now does not mean that I need everything now. I disagreed with people buying secondary pieces of useless equipment. If you can do something with something else, then do it.
As far as windows CE...We're both in agreement.
Oh yeah, and the "cute" comment was an attempt to get a rise out of people, but that's it.
If I had the points, I'd moderate yer comment up. Good tuche'.
... that best buy gives away computers (for an ISP contract), yet a palm pilot - a stripped down one still costs $300?
sure you can buy all kinds of extras, a modem, an ethernet card, etc, but what your failing to recognize that this is little more than a day planner crossed with a Tamaguci(?).
For a few dollars more, buy a junk laptop, and a wireless ethernet card and/or wireless modem - same thing - but probably more versatile...
"...but a laptop is so... heavy" Don't even start with that. "...but I've already got a laptop, I need something for meetings" Then buy lotus notes. "...but palms are so cute" Buy a tamaguchi.
Why write again, when you can carry something to play tetris on instead of pay attention during meetings?
This sounds like a great tool for recording strict classical songs with no varriation, or garage-band formula songs. It might even play like Jimi, but it doesn't sound like it handles the once in a lifetime sound one might find from a show of his, or the instant inspiration and back-tracked tangent he takes. - not that I've ever seen Jimi play... But it's the same as a B.B. King, or a DMB (as much as I don't care for them), - all of these people are musicians...
Play the notes, add technical dynamics and a realistic sound base - but if you can't make music - it'll still just be crap.
Use of this only looks to stiffle human creativity.
I wonder if I could con work into purchasing a few of these kits so we could do our proof of concept demonstration models. Just think: build it, code it, and re-use it for the next POC demonstration. Plus now that O'Reilly produces a book it might be possible to claim it as a "tool" not a just a "toy".
This would actually mean that controls systems became thought out etc...
Some questions for you lego heads out there: 1. Do they come with temperature, motion, pressure or any similar sensor packages? 2. Does the ora book give a pinout on the connectors so custom electronics can be added? 3. Are there motor specifications so that motors can be removed/ redesigned/ remounted?
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I think you have a valid concern for most parts of the world. However, I think GB does have a consistent record of violating their peoples rights for their saftey. One such saftey factor actually might make this a little bit better than the situation you describe above though... that is GB's TOUGH gun laws...
Here is some history.
Here is a pretty damn frightening article.
Here is some more interesting discussion.
Here is a chart.
Well, UF developed one, but I can't say that it's snazzy and such... Plus university students rarely produce mass quantities of such a device...
But, I'm not giving up hope. No, for there is a company once mighty in just matters of the chainsaw... now they too have the mower for nerds.. is now we turn to Husqvarna!
Now if they'd only make a robotic chainsaw too...
Ok, in an attempt to skew the statistics... I entered in some "nerd" fields
CD: Redhat 6.1 (it didn't qualify as a game)
Movie: Tron
Boad Game: Mindtraps
Video Game: Pong (just to iritate everyone else)
Music Video: Weird Al's Amish Paradise ('nuf said)
Books: Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series)
Snack Food: Swedish Fish and Jolt
Gadget: Abio (well I don't have one but I can dream - and mine certainly wouldn't be a toy)
Toy: SGI Onyx2 Workstation (trust me it could only be a toy for me)
Well...
I look at this as a lesser of evils, do I fear the evil of Microsoft squeezing other businesses, or do I fear stupid pattents more?
Honestly, I fear stupid pattents more. While I disagree with the ethics of MSFTs usual tactic of "if we can't buy you we'll copy and under-price you and trample all over you", I don't disagree with the practice of competing products.
If MSFT develops a similar product they have the right to market it. They do NOT have the right to say "sell us your company or be crushed." They do NOT have the right to say "stop persuing this type of business." They do NOT have the right to say "we're going to make sure no one does business with you." They do have the right to compeete fairly.
The problem with pattent law is, if we don't attempt to reform it soon, there won't be many companies left to fight the legal battles necessary to reform it. (It WILL become even a larger problem).
We do a lot of utility work... in the sort of places no one really wants to think about (under New York City) We don't use traditional PCs, but we do use traditional pc parts (or at least traditional boards, usually with a few specailty boards. You could probably mount traditional pc parts (including the power supply) in one of the industrial cases we use - with the understanding of a couple of things... you can't run a hot processor, you have to have massive heat sinks and it takes a lot of testing and time to do it right... Think "low-end Linux box" not "quake machine."
The cases (er cabinets) we buy are pretty darn rugged (i.e. waterproof, very heat resistant, pretty resistant to shock, etc).
Now keep in mind, all external openings (for cords and etc) need to be tapped and all internal components need to be mounted in some way.
Well here's a plug for the people we buy from:
Contact information
Stahlin Fiberglass (a Division of ROBROY Industries)
Belding Division
Belding, Michigan 48809
Phone (616)794-0700
However, that's just for a PC... I hadn't even considered a monitor. If you're expecting to put in a monitor and stuff like that... it gets a lot more expensive and difficult... now what you're talking is purchasing industrial grade PCs...
Now you might be talking purchasing something from Xycom Automation. But, most of these are also flat/touchscreens ($$cha-ching$$) and once again come preloaded with DOS/95/NT. I don't know about Linux drivers for those... However if you look around enough you will find a lot of machinery does run with some form of *NIX (to avoid the reliability problems of MS)
Well, that's about the best I can do for you...
I know very little about DVD (as I don't have one on my computer at home, and there is no need for them at work...) I have a few questions:
#1. How much can a DVD hold? (lots yeah, but how much)
#2. What is the difference between a dvd and a cd?
#3. This shows how fast super CD (or whatever its called) can access info, but how fast can a DVD player? (ie are you really gaining a useful meadium or just a big storage device)
Thoughts?
After Holloween a bunch of co-workers and I were sitting around the lunch table. I happened to bring some left over candy that the kids didn't take the night before. One of the guys picked up a milkyway bar and noticed the words "MAY CONTAIN PEANUTS" clearly written on the label. Directly below was the phone number. He called. They informed him that this is a warning specifically to people who are allergic to peanuts. The machine used to make Milkyway is also used to produce another product (which the company would not mention - snickers I assume) that contains peanuts. While they (mars?) clean the machine thoroughly after every use, they were afraid of trace residues causing trouble for someone with an exteeme alergy --> hence the warning. They sent him a book of free coupons... It was a good chuckle for us, it was a good chuckle for them...
Interestingly, if you put this in in google
the first thing it comes back with is adobe (so what)
but the next thing it comes back with is the Microsoft Welcome page.
Cooincidence? I think not.
I used to be quite skeptical about unified theory, but then I read the Fabric Of Reality and I was just as lost, but even more interested.
It gives good justification to the thought that it is now impossible to know everything, however, it will be possible to understand everything... pretty freaking fascinating...
I mean come on... this freedom stuff is for the birds. What we really need is a good dosage of big brother to make us happy. How do I know? Big brother told me so. That's good enough reason for me.
So, I think that this is a really good first step. Now every packet I have can be monitored and checked. Honestly, I don't care if they do it to me whether I am a criminal or a working class person. Its all just fine with me. Don't think of it as the FBI or the NSA eavesdropping, think of it as your own personal entourage. Every thing I do, whether I type or I talk on the telephone, they can listen to me. That doesn't sound bad... Its comforting really, like the AT&T commercials, but without having to pay for long distance.
Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to get a barcode stamped on me, or maybe a subdermal implant, either way - if it helps the NSA or the FBI catch the bad guys, it must be a good thing. After all, the FBI and the NSA are the good guys, they would never use any information in an illegal fashion. That is important to me.
Sure their history may house a, well, a few tarnishing events, but that's ok. Everybody makes mistakes, lets not penalize them for that... that would be... unfair, and we want to be fair.
See, I will gladly be compliant... Niether the FBI nor the CIA, nor the NSA have anything to fear from me. I will gladly be a sheep.
Lets define a few things...
. tar.gz)
FACT n 1: a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred; "first you must collect all the facts of the case" 2: a statement or assertion of verified information about something that is the case or has happened; "he supported his argument with an impressive array of facts" 3: an event known to have happened or something known to have existed; "your fears have no basis in fact" "how much of the story is fact and how much fiction is hard to tell" 4: a concept whose truth can be proved; "scientific hypotheses are not facts"
(from ftp://clarity.princeton.edu/pub/wordnet/wn1.6unix
The term "Finding of Fact" (FoF) means that what is stated is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (so help it....).
This means a few things.
#1. Microsoft can not argue the facts (i.e. continue to plead the case). They have been stated and found. These facts are admissable in higher courts of law. Any judgements will be based off of the facts given and maybe some additional facts if a higher judge is feeling nice. Microsoft may only appeal the decision the judge makes (calling it unfair), they cannot change the facts.
the FoF is to the Ken Star report as (I predict) the ruling will be to the impeachment decision. The appeals will act just like the Senate. If the appeal is worthy, then Microsoft will be known as the monopoly that got away, just like Clinton is known as the guy who got impeached but got away with it. If Microsoft does not escape the appeals process, then whatever...
So what does this ramble say?
If you disagree with the verdict, you are wrong. There has been no verdict! You can speculate now, you can dream, but there are no more arguements to make until a verdict is rendered. Period.
So, hypothosize as to whether Microsoft will be broken up, think about whether they should be fined or slaped or chained in a basement. Regardless - these are the facts, these cannot be disagreed with.
- Forge a check and I loose $50 bucks
- Forge a letter and more than likely, a notery will get you off.
- Forge a document and more than liklely it will be caught (lengthy court possible, but usually a notery can tell)
Now:
- Forge a digital signature and:
Have my credit card statements ( anyone been to www.discover.com, or www.visa.com, or www.....)
Have my credit card numbers
Purchase a 35'ft replica of a viking ship on E-Bay
(as the theif) Claim that someone has stolen your identy and may try to get back in touch with (whomever) doles out the digital sig... thus making things long and hard
Yes, you have no obiligation to sign all of your documents with your digital signature, but tell that to the people who send you stuff regardless. Remeber: whether you choose to use something or turn a blind eye to it doesn't mean it exists...
Its like rapping a towel around your head so the alien won't eat you... funny, good in a kids story, but not practical.
While this is progress, I'm not sure if this is progress forward (at least at this time). IMHO, this is this suffers from the same fundemental flaws as online voting:
1. The general public does not understand the implications of sharing a password with a friend.
2. Without forcing restrictions on the rights of the internet citizens as a whole (bad idea), it becomes extreemely difficult to enforce violations of this (i.e. someone from some other country impersonates you).
3. Script-kiddies ('nuff said)
4. In reference to warranties: (I'm going out on a limb) The ability to alter/change electronic information after the fact, a-la "Rising Sun" (maybe a 1 1/2 star movie) may be easier for companies rather than deal with "problems".
5. Sending things to people via a digital signature (as opposed to ceritfied mail) relies on the receiver being able to keep a copy of in case of a hard drive crash.
5b. Windows (controlling over 80% of the market - mac included) Crashes - lots.
Well, try not to tear it completely apart... but thats some of the flaws I see.
what about filling a slash-action lawsuit against the offending websites?
Wow. /. readers have a lot of interesting stuff to say... or at least some interesting ideas. Even if I disagree with them... wow... This is ridiculous... a lot of you out there are just completely unaware about this... that is pretty sad.
/. readers think that knowing computers is a necessity in the 21st century (heck even today). How many /.ers think that every man woman and child should have some level of computer literacy. How many /.ers think that the internet is going to become an integral part of every-day life to every single human (eventually)? How many slashdotters realize that there are people with disabilites people out in cyberspace who have yet another obstacle to overcome with the internet?
i sabilities.htm
Normally
How many
Get out from your cubes, look around, you will find tons of resources for people with disabiliies on the web...Here are just a few.
www.atacces.org/design.htm
www.webable.com
http://ww w.the-park.com/volunteer/safehaven/specialneeds/d
For those of you who are not curious enogh to read through some of the design specifications on webable (probably the best I listed), you have to understand where people with disabilities are coming from.
For starters, they are PEOPLE - first and foremost. Like all people, they have the right to go to any public place they would like to - including on the internet...
Gasp! yes, there are people with disabilities - even vision disabilites who can type. Just think, they can find their way to the bathroom every morning, they can make themselves, breakfast, and - Gasp - they can even use a computer. For the first time people with disabilities are getting to interact on a large scale as equals...
or not...
A large number of high profile pages have begun to use more and more graphics, which
#1 take a long time to download
#2 are sometimes improperly used to convey a essage
#3 frequenlty over-enhance a web page for difficult manuvering.
#4 hide content, block content, and otherwise convey different content than the rest of the page.
In addition, most standard screen readers (what people with visual disabilities often use in conjunction with a browser) cannot read drawn words - but they can read accompanying captions - something which many web developers have begun leaving out...
So here's what we've said to the comunity of people with disabilites: Here, have access to the web, have resources, have all kinds of stuff... but any of the cool stuff - that's just for us "normal" people.
Do I think that AOL should be the one sued? Probably not. However, someone as highly visible as AOL needs to smarten up and take the initiative to help people with disabilites. Someone like AOL though _does_ make an effort to create a family environment (though I still despise them). The sad thing is - if your family has a person with visual disabilities, your out of luck.
Customer: Waiter, what's this fly doing in my soup?
Waiter: Looks like he's filming you sir.
It's just not as funny.
...people could mistakenly act like it was a slashdot poll and vote for a professional wrestler...
oh wait... that happened.
Ok, sure building a really tiny gate is cool and all, but the question is: of what use is this?
Sure it may be tiny, but if it can't make a state transition fast enough to keep up with today's silicon - forget it.
Yes, smaller may be better for Place and Route, but what about the REALLY important stuff like - timing. (ok, the guy does P&R for a living, begin your rant). I'll argue that there are more time critical hardware designs than size critical hardware designs, but correct me if I'm wrong. Faster is better than smaller.
...since a bunch has already been said, but here is something a lot of us might be forgetting - at least in the US market.
Lets look at both the average consumer and the large corporation.
Most households which would buy a computer have bought a computer. My parents finally put a 286, bought in '90, to rest and bought a new computer. They were happy with it, it did everything they wanted and finally stuff started to die and they - finally - bought a new one.
when I was home during breaks and holidays through college, teaching them how to use a computer was one thing, now they are re-learing absolutely everything and I'm 1,000 away working - it is a whole hellova lot harder...
Anyways, what's my point. The average household has purchased a computer by now and they expect to get a bunch of years out of it - not the six months propellor heads (like me) expect to get out of a machine. My parents had their computer for almost nine years. They, like most computer quasi-pseudo-non-literate people see a really fancy TV when they look at a computer. They expect it to last them about 9 years... Yes, now they are on the internet, and yes they now find it really cool, but there is little technology has to offer them in terms of hardware that their Pentium III-450 (or even if they had only a Pentium I-166) would not be able to offer them. They are not writing code, making cad drawings, or playing quake 'til 3AM or their eyes fall out (which ever comes first). They, like most America, has what it needs - something to surf the webwith, something to do their taxes on, and something to play solitare with (since everyone knows you can't use a real deck of cards anymore).
They will not purchase an Anthalon.
From the business side...
Businesses just finished dumping money into Y2K compliance for every single system. In most cases, desktops which posed a possible threat to Y2K compliance were chucked, and computers were upgraded. Businesses spent the capital on absolutely everyhing. Here's a hint - only tech industries need the latest and the greatest machinery, and they probably don't really either.
What I'm saying once again, is that expect not too too many Anthalons to be bought for corporations (or at least not as many as AMD would LIKE to be bought).
What does this really mean? Hardware has fast outgrown itself - dangerously. While I hate marketing -especially intels, intel has recognized this and has worked to establish a desire to still upgrade (don't get on the internet, get into it). At best, people with early pentiums and late 486s will buy it and donate their old ones to good will (oh yeah and avid gamers will chuck theirs too, and try to sell their old crap on ebay - since they have to have the latest and greatest pc).
What I'm talking here is at best trickle down economics for PCs. The ones who loose are the chip manufacturers - hands down.
So, if AMD is banking everyting on the Anthalon, kiss them goodbye. If intel thinks that their going to continue to get a better market share - guess again. If a tech recession is going to happen, this is where it will start.
Potassium is supposedly good for your labedo as well (improves stamina)...something about Red meat being real good for that as well...
So the "Steak and Banana" diet can be expanded to "Steak, Potato, and Banana" diet and -probably- have the same effect...
of course, ejaculation causes short term memory loss, so would the positive effect of potatoes, be counteracted by the increased sexual potential?
Oh yeah, I am not condoning a steak and bananas diet.... it was just something funny I read once...
I remember a friend of mine in college ran a shareware program on his NT box called waterfall. If basically examined commands being handled by the CPU and identified any waits and changed inserted halts. I could make a strong arguement for this being on any other system. It slowed things down - a little - and if I remember it was a memory hog, but it turned his 123 degree processor (digital thermometer stuck on CPU told us so) to around a 92 or so degree processor. His room was south facing dorm during the summer. He also stole those silver blankets people wear after running marathons and covered his window. But he also was overclocking his machines from 200 to 266 MHz to contribute to heat problems.
I didn't run it, I don't know where he got it, and really I don't even know where to start looking for it... but I was curious if anyone else had ever seen it, used it, and/or found out why it never made it big.
Nifty! good quick, biting response.
/. er may not like it, running windows is not a crime. A throw laptop aint a bad thing. We use them all the time for serial communications testing.
Try keeping your laptop on standby all the time. Even if it doesn't drain your batteries, you still have to wait for it to come up to speed before you begin to launch your application of choice.
1) Turn on your laptop at the beginning of class
2) Purchase a second battery to recharge at night. Use power cords when available.
3) Why carry notebooks if you bring a laptop? (and I'll concede a palm as well) Through school I used my textbook in class with only two teachers, and that was because they taught strictly from the book. 1 laptop replaces 1 book bag.
4) I'm either going to take a bunch of notes, or I'm going to take very, very few. If I turn it on, a LT is on for the duration, if I have to wait a few seconds for it to come from standby...oh well.
Sorry, last time I checked Lotus Notes was still a desktop app. You're still bound to standard Windows conventions.
While I may not like it, you may not like it, and every other
Palms don't crash, either.
Of this I am skeptical, but I will concede to you wh is much more of an expert on it... Personally I find this fascinating, and that alone should be their selling point.
But they don't run Linux, you say?
(this is only in good humor)
So. big whoop...niether does my toaster. =)
Apparently the marketplace knows better than you do.
I never disagreed with whether people bought them or not, but DUH, ofcourse I know that people buy them. I disagreed with whether people really need them, or need that much information. Comfort does not equal better. Desire does not mean good. Just because I want to have everything now does not mean that I need everything now. I disagreed with people buying secondary pieces of useless equipment. If you can do something with something else, then do it.
As far as windows CE...We're both in agreement.
Oh yeah, and the "cute" comment was an attempt to get a rise out of people, but that's it.
If I had the points, I'd moderate yer comment up. Good tuche'.
... that best buy gives away computers (for an ISP contract), yet a palm pilot - a stripped down one still costs $300?
sure you can buy all kinds of extras, a modem, an ethernet card, etc, but what your failing to recognize that this is little more than a day planner crossed with a Tamaguci(?).
For a few dollars more, buy a junk laptop, and a wireless ethernet card and/or wireless modem - same thing - but probably more versatile...
"...but a laptop is so... heavy"
Don't even start with that.
"...but I've already got a laptop, I need something for meetings"
Then buy lotus notes.
"...but palms are so cute"
Buy a tamaguchi.
Why write again, when you can carry something to play tetris on instead of pay attention during meetings?
...can it improvise?
This sounds like a great tool for recording strict classical songs with no varriation, or garage-band formula songs. It might even play like Jimi, but it doesn't sound like it handles the once in a lifetime sound one might find from a show of his, or the instant inspiration and back-tracked tangent he takes. - not that I've ever seen Jimi play... But it's the same as a B.B. King, or a DMB (as much as I don't care for them), - all of these people are musicians...
Play the notes, add technical dynamics and a realistic sound base - but if you can't make music - it'll still just be crap.
Use of this only looks to stiffle human creativity.
I wonder if I could con work into purchasing a few of these kits so we could do our proof of concept demonstration models. Just think: build it, code it, and re-use it for the next POC demonstration. Plus now that O'Reilly produces a book it might be possible to claim it as a "tool" not a just a "toy".
This would actually mean that controls systems became thought out etc...
Some questions for you lego heads out there:
1. Do they come with temperature, motion, pressure or any similar sensor packages?
2. Does the ora book give a pinout on the connectors so custom electronics can be added?
3. Are there motor specifications so that motors can be removed/ redesigned/ remounted?
Any thoughts?