I love to hear stories like this. This is what medical science should be doing instead of creating synthetic substances and chemical agents to 'heal' us. Nature has already created the most potent medicines and diseases, we just have to learn to control them.
I don't know of any country in Europe who's telcos offer prices that are half as attractive as what you guys have in the states. Cheap long distance calling, free local calls, quick new-line installation - these are things most European companies and private individuals dream about. Did you know that price of an inter-city connection in Poland is over $0.50/minute even though salaries here are 10x lower that in the US? Or that BT, the (ex?)British State Teleco doesn't differentiate between local and long distance calls, so in effect all calls are long distance? Or that most German internet users I know pay between 3-4DM per hour of on-line time, and that's just the connection fee!
One of the main reasons that the internet has exploded in America like it has is because your telcos are offering 1st world services at 3rd world rates. Imagine how much harder it would be to justify an extra $150 phone bill (like a lot of Poles do) just to be online reguarly. Or to have a telco that just last month started differenting rates for nighttime (22-6) calls (50% less.) Not a pretty picture, is it?
I think that you're overstating the 'power' of DT. Humanity won't be 'obliterated' by loosing to a computer at chess. Chess is a very finite game and the number of positions can in fact be calculated, stored and referenced. In fact, I think it's time to take chess down as the 'game of games' - especially when competing against a computer. As computing power grows, chess goes the way of tic-tac-toe.
Slashdot Mirror
As a professional graphics designer I have enough problems keeping my monitor clean to start fondling it with my fingers.
Heck, I spent the better part of last month convincing the cleaning crew to stop 'cleaning' my screen.
I love to hear stories like this. This is what medical science should be doing instead of creating synthetic substances and chemical agents to 'heal' us. Nature has already created the most potent medicines and diseases, we just have to learn to control them.
I don't know of any country in Europe who's telcos offer prices that are half as attractive as what you guys have in the states. Cheap long distance calling, free local calls, quick new-line installation - these are things most European companies and private individuals dream about. Did you know that price of an inter-city connection in Poland is over $0.50/minute even though salaries here are 10x lower that in the US? Or that BT, the (ex?)British State Teleco doesn't differentiate between local and long distance calls, so in effect all calls are long distance? Or that most German internet users I know pay between 3-4DM per hour of on-line time, and that's just the connection fee!
.sig free since '88
One of the main reasons that the internet has exploded in America like it has is because your telcos are offering 1st world services at 3rd world rates. Imagine how much harder it would be to justify an extra $150 phone bill (like a lot of Poles do) just to be online reguarly. Or to have a telco that just last month started differenting rates for nighttime (22-6) calls (50% less.) Not a pretty picture, is it?
jay
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I think that you're overstating the 'power' of DT. Humanity won't be 'obliterated' by loosing to a computer at chess. Chess is a very finite game and the number of positions can in fact be calculated, stored and referenced. In fact, I think it's time to take chess down as the 'game of games' - especially when competing against a computer. As computing power grows, chess goes the way of tic-tac-toe.
Who the hell would want to 'boink' Tori Spelling?