The utter ludicrousness of the claims in this article are astounding, mostly in how many people have bought it without any question.
While it's entirely likely "something" occured, the dilution of the story through the press has resulted in something that even a child would find fault in.
1. What constitutes a "laser" in the cockpit? A red dot? not likely at 1.5 miles altitude. Not to mention that the range would be a hypotenuse of the altitude and therefore MUCH farther.
2. The accuracy required to "track" the cockpit of a jet aircraft is astounding. This is the kind of test that prototype military weaponry fails routinly.
3. Assuming a laser was used, tracked accurately...what power output would be required for it to even be noticable? The thing would have to be semi-truck mounted.
Anyone think that maybe, it might be likely that this story has been utterly and completely misrepresented by the press? Or that maybe a drunk pilot noticed a reflection off a stray CD in the cockpit and freaked out? I see stray lights on my walls all the time, never once did I think terrorists were trying to blind me.
[blockquote] None of the world's top six mobile phone vendors could immediately respond to the results of the study.[/blockquote]
What??? you mean you called the receptionist at a random office of cell phone companies and she didn't have a prepared scientific study to refute this tripe? shocking!!!
I dont think it would be too difficult to replace a brick during the scheduled maintance. They would probably need to shut down the data for 5 or 6 minutes, remove the defective brick, and it's back up. However this can be done during the end of the day because the other bricks have a mirror. Seems like a really great idea.
Yeah, sounds like a huge improvement over current storage technology where you don't have to take the whole damn thing offline to change one bad disk.
I think people are confusing a "proof of concept" with an actual consumer product. This is an interesting exercise in possibilites, but it's one of the worst ideas in storage implementation I've ever heard on a practical level.
If anyone should be upset, it would be Isaac Asimov. Look how they butchered his "I, Robot" when they made a movie of it. I don't think there is ANYTHING like the story in there. But whatever....
If you'd paid attention to the credits, you'd have seen the movie "I, Robot" didn't claim to be "based on the book...", it said "Inspired by the book". That's a hollywood way of admitting that the movie has nothing to do with the book by the same name.
This occasionally occurs when a story is sufficiently close to invoke a lawsuit by the book author if they didn't pay him money/credit, but they don't want to actually make a film of the book.
I agree. Unless you read Sauron's diaries of the time, you're only getting one side. In reality, he only wanted rights to water his cattle on elven land, and practice his oft misunderstood religion of polygamy.
That being said, Ursula's rant has convinced me not to watch the shitty adaptation of her books (which I haven't read and don't plan to) when/if they get aired here in Canada. The superficial racism (thats pretty oxymoronic, actually) on the part of the people responsible for the mini-series is reason enough to snub it.
Ursula's rant not only convinced me not to watch the miniseries, but convinced me to never read any of her books either.
What a childish and uncomfortably racist piece of crap that was (her Salon article)
I don't blame TV producers for making race changes to fit the actors they have available, that's kind of the reality of the real world vs. a fictional text where can write anything you want.
I do blame Le Guin for her racist tirade and childish tantrum over what happened after she SOLD the rights to her work. Hey baby, I got news for you...when you sell something, they can do what they want with it.
However, making statements putting words in her mouth...she should sue them to f**k and back.
The sand dunes in this were quite clearly large slopes of chipboard with some sand on them - TERRIBLE.
I have to agree. It was clear that the Dune miniseries ran out of money before they were done because the effects kept getting progressively worse.
There eventually reached a point where they had digitally whited out the eyes of the Fremem charactes, but didn't get around to putting the ridiculous blue glow effect they were using.
Then there was a scene where there was a cityscape in the background that was such a poor quality painting that I wasn't sure if the characters were supposed to be standing in front of a painting of a city, or if we were supposed to think it WAS a city.
all in all, it was pretty F'n bad.
And this is coming from a person who has actually read ALL the dune books (that were written by FRANK Herbert) and thought they sucked ass. First two were ok, but the rest read like the man was looking for a paycheck.
I worked in software retail for several years, and saw countless "release date violations". Never once did I see a store ever get sanctioned by the distributor for doing it. Even Windows 95, which had the biggest launch in software history didn't generate so much as a nasty email for stores that sold it early (like we did).
The theory of relase dates is for the distributors to be able to get the product on sale in all the retailers at the same time, regardless of shipping and supply issues. This keeps the complaining down from retailers.
If someone "violates" the release date, the distributors dont really give a crap. They sell just as many numbers, and they have a scapegoat to point their finger at if stores complain who didn't get stock.
Then ask him why the miniscule amount (flouride is toxic after all) of flouride added to drinking water is so much more effective than the flouride in toothpaste, which is a much higher concentration. Not to mention the fact that one is scrubbed into your teeth, and the other has brief, limited contact before it's swallowed.
If he can't answer that, or gives a lame response about "both" being the key, ask if maybe...just maybe...that the widespread flouridation of toothpaste at about the same time that drinking water started getting it, might be responsible for the overall increase in oral health.
Or maybe people just brush their teeth more these days than 50 years ago.
We have flouride in drinking water because it's easy, and some is better than none. But pretending that people who otherwise practice decent toothcare are having decay because the water wasn't flouridated is ridiculous.
I have a very hard time believeing that dentists would say such a thing.
The flouride that some cities add to drinking water is orders of magnitude lower in concentration than that in toothpaste. Flouride has no systematic benefits (from swallowing), only in the topical application to the teeth.
So basically, the only possbile benefit anyone would see from flouridated water is if you never brushed your teeth with toothpaste, and even then it's so minute that brushing once a month would give better results.
Any dentist who would say such a thing wouldn't be my dentist long. If such a dentist really was concerned about tooth decay, he'd be recommending brushing your funky teeth, not drinking flouridated water.
Sure thing:
http://www.billionton.com/website/product/index.as p?sid=883999341&code=APBTC1G&m=1
I picked it up off eBay for about $70. search for "bluetooth router" and you'll pick up a whole page of them.
My experience is mixed.
By default it REQUIRES configuration through a non-paired bluetooth connection. My laptop only allowed pin-paired network connections.
So I had to use the browser in my iPaq to configure it. But the iPaq browser doesn't have a Java VM, so I couldn't configure it. Then after searching for a VM, I discovered that there was one on the CD that came with the iPaq.
Finally got it configured and both my laptop and iPaq paired with it nicely. It was kind of a tedious and ciruitous process though.
It's actually a surprisingly sophisticated little device: DHCP, NAT, Bridge or router mode.
The short range may have something to do with it
Be careful bashing technology you don't really know about. Bluetooth by specification has a range up to 100 meters, not exactly "short range" by most peoples use of the term.
I use a bluetooth router at home for LAN access on my iPaq and some quirk of how the signals penetrate walls gives me better range on Bluetooth than I get on WiFi.
What adoption? When was the last time you used a Bluetooth-enabled device to do anything useful?
Last time? I'd guess about 5 minutes ago.
1. I use a bluetooth connection to my laptop to edit my cell phone contact list with a real keyboard.
2. I use a bluetooth headset to talk on my cell phone without a wire catching on everything.
3. I have a bluetooth GPS unit that I use map routing with my pocketpc.
4. I have a bluetooth router on my home network to provide LAN access to my pocketpc (WiFi drains the battery in about 1.5 hours, bluetooth in 5.5).
Too many people make the mistake of thinking that since THEY don't use a technology, nobody does. Bluetooth is not only gaining wide acceptance, but it's very useful as well. Short range, low power consumption is a killer combination for many many uses.
this "new material" looks an awful lot like the 3M reflective fabric they use for running shoes, windbreakers, projector screens, etc.
It seems to me that they've discovered if you put a camera behind someone and a projector on front of them, it looks kinda cool.
Slashdot Mirror
The utter ludicrousness of the claims in this article are astounding, mostly in how many people have bought it without any question.
While it's entirely likely "something" occured, the dilution of the story through the press has resulted in something that even a child would find fault in.
1. What constitutes a "laser" in the cockpit? A red dot? not likely at 1.5 miles altitude. Not to mention that the range would be a hypotenuse of the altitude and therefore MUCH farther.
2. The accuracy required to "track" the cockpit of a jet aircraft is astounding. This is the kind of test that prototype military weaponry fails routinly.
3. Assuming a laser was used, tracked accurately...what power output would be required for it to even be noticable? The thing would have to be semi-truck mounted.
Anyone think that maybe, it might be likely that this story has been utterly and completely misrepresented by the press? Or that maybe a drunk pilot noticed a reflection off a stray CD in the cockpit and freaked out? I see stray lights on my walls all the time, never once did I think terrorists were trying to blind me.
[blockquote] None of the world's top six mobile phone vendors could immediately respond to the results of the study.[/blockquote] What??? you mean you called the receptionist at a random office of cell phone companies and she didn't have a prepared scientific study to refute this tripe? shocking!!!
Yeah, sounds like a huge improvement over current storage technology where you don't have to take the whole damn thing offline to change one bad disk.
I think people are confusing a "proof of concept" with an actual consumer product. This is an interesting exercise in possibilites, but it's one of the worst ideas in storage implementation I've ever heard on a practical level.
Save your money. Whether you're an Asimov fan or not, it's just not a good movie.
I agree. Unless you read Sauron's diaries of the time, you're only getting one side. In reality, he only wanted rights to water his cattle on elven land, and practice his oft misunderstood religion of polygamy.
Ursula's rant not only convinced me not to watch the miniseries, but convinced me to never read any of her books either.
What a childish and uncomfortably racist piece of crap that was (her Salon article)
I don't blame TV producers for making race changes to fit the actors they have available, that's kind of the reality of the real world vs. a fictional text where can write anything you want.
I do blame Le Guin for her racist tirade and childish tantrum over what happened after she SOLD the rights to her work. Hey baby, I got news for you...when you sell something, they can do what they want with it.
However, making statements putting words in her mouth...she should sue them to f**k and back.
I have to agree. It was clear that the Dune miniseries ran out of money before they were done because the effects kept getting progressively worse.
There eventually reached a point where they had digitally whited out the eyes of the Fremem charactes, but didn't get around to putting the ridiculous blue glow effect they were using.
Then there was a scene where there was a cityscape in the background that was such a poor quality painting that I wasn't sure if the characters were supposed to be standing in front of a painting of a city, or if we were supposed to think it WAS a city.
all in all, it was pretty F'n bad.
And this is coming from a person who has actually read ALL the dune books (that were written by FRANK Herbert) and thought they sucked ass. First two were ok, but the rest read like the man was looking for a paycheck.
I worked in software retail for several years, and saw countless "release date violations". Never once did I see a store ever get sanctioned by the distributor for doing it. Even Windows 95, which had the biggest launch in software history didn't generate so much as a nasty email for stores that sold it early (like we did). The theory of relase dates is for the distributors to be able to get the product on sale in all the retailers at the same time, regardless of shipping and supply issues. This keeps the complaining down from retailers. If someone "violates" the release date, the distributors dont really give a crap. They sell just as many numbers, and they have a scapegoat to point their finger at if stores complain who didn't get stock.
Ok, try this one then.
Ask your dentist to reaffirm that statement.
Then ask him why the miniscule amount (flouride is toxic after all) of flouride added to drinking water is so much more effective than the flouride in toothpaste, which is a much higher concentration. Not to mention the fact that one is scrubbed into your teeth, and the other has brief, limited contact before it's swallowed.
If he can't answer that, or gives a lame response about "both" being the key, ask if maybe...just maybe...that the widespread flouridation of toothpaste at about the same time that drinking water started getting it, might be responsible for the overall increase in oral health.
Or maybe people just brush their teeth more these days than 50 years ago.
We have flouride in drinking water because it's easy, and some is better than none. But pretending that people who otherwise practice decent toothcare are having decay because the water wasn't flouridated is ridiculous.
I have a very hard time believeing that dentists would say such a thing. The flouride that some cities add to drinking water is orders of magnitude lower in concentration than that in toothpaste. Flouride has no systematic benefits (from swallowing), only in the topical application to the teeth. So basically, the only possbile benefit anyone would see from flouridated water is if you never brushed your teeth with toothpaste, and even then it's so minute that brushing once a month would give better results. Any dentist who would say such a thing wouldn't be my dentist long. If such a dentist really was concerned about tooth decay, he'd be recommending brushing your funky teeth, not drinking flouridated water.
Sure thing: http://www.billionton.com/website/product/index.as p?sid=883999341&code=APBTC1G&m=1
I picked it up off eBay for about $70. search for "bluetooth router" and you'll pick up a whole page of them.
My experience is mixed.
By default it REQUIRES configuration through a non-paired bluetooth connection. My laptop only allowed pin-paired network connections.
So I had to use the browser in my iPaq to configure it. But the iPaq browser doesn't have a Java VM, so I couldn't configure it. Then after searching for a VM, I discovered that there was one on the CD that came with the iPaq.
Finally got it configured and both my laptop and iPaq paired with it nicely. It was kind of a tedious and ciruitous process though.
It's actually a surprisingly sophisticated little device: DHCP, NAT, Bridge or router mode.
The short range may have something to do with it Be careful bashing technology you don't really know about. Bluetooth by specification has a range up to 100 meters, not exactly "short range" by most peoples use of the term. I use a bluetooth router at home for LAN access on my iPaq and some quirk of how the signals penetrate walls gives me better range on Bluetooth than I get on WiFi.
What adoption? When was the last time you used a Bluetooth-enabled device to do anything useful?
Last time? I'd guess about 5 minutes ago.
1. I use a bluetooth connection to my laptop to edit my cell phone contact list with a real keyboard.
2. I use a bluetooth headset to talk on my cell phone without a wire catching on everything.
3. I have a bluetooth GPS unit that I use map routing with my pocketpc.
4. I have a bluetooth router on my home network to provide LAN access to my pocketpc (WiFi drains the battery in about 1.5 hours, bluetooth in 5.5).
Too many people make the mistake of thinking that since THEY don't use a technology, nobody does. Bluetooth is not only gaining wide acceptance, but it's very useful as well. Short range, low power consumption is a killer combination for many many uses.
this "new material" looks an awful lot like the 3M reflective fabric they use for running shoes, windbreakers, projector screens, etc. It seems to me that they've discovered if you put a camera behind someone and a projector on front of them, it looks kinda cool.
People who complain about the quality of a free service amuse me. I mean that in the most condescending way possible.