It is stupid to believe something without data. What is you have data? Does millennia of selective breeding data become invalid because it would be stupid (not PC) to apply that to humans? Or should we look at the data objectively and use it to our advantage; not to shut people out, not to stereotype in job interviews but to further our understanding of the human species.
I doubt that this professor knows a damn thing about the subject but he is at least willing to SAY he doesn't know anything about it.
----- It was noticed in England that boys in school were falling behind the girls in test scores. Someone thought that there might be a basic genetic difference between the two so it would be better to have all boys in one class and all girls in the other.
The result was reported as a failure. You see, while the boys _did_ learn more in a same sex class room, the girls did even better yet! That meant that the gap had grown and of course the gap was the problem. So the girls could be learning more than they are but they are being held back so they don't get too far ahead of the boys. ----
It is better in today's society to treat everyone the same (no child left behind) than to make sure everyone has a chance to excel at their own personal talents. For some vague reason this pisses me off!
If the majority of women have a harder time with math that might be because we are teaching it to them in the wrong way or it might be because we are teaching it to them at the wrong time or it might be something else entirely. Why can we not do the research to find ways to do it better? Are you trying to keep women from learning math or me from saying there might be a difference?
Perhaps we should not disregard the statistics entierly just to accommodate the exception? Statistics has many ways of dealing with this distibution but I can't remember what they are at the moment. In any case, it seems like we are moving away from the science dominated methodology of the 50s (science won the war and then got us to the moon) to a less rigorous model where one exception is enough to scrap the theory and the data.
Maybe we should spend some time finding out what the actual, biological, differences are between men and women. In the past these diffeneces were assumed. We broke though those stereotypes and have now acepted another one: There are no diffences. I can tell you from experience that is untrue! (If you can't think of any biological differences you may need to check some other web sites:)
First, it sounds like this tech may not quite be ready for prime time gaming. Second, I have never used the EyeToy but what I'm looking for is something portable. I want to be able to pull out my [device] and, using only one hand (see, nothing up my sleeve!), play the equivilent of Marble blaster. Nothing fancy or overly complicated. I don't want to play Quake 3, just little things to pass the time at the bus stop or on the train. The frustrations from having the train stop or start would just be part of the fun. I suspect that a new breed of game would spring up to take advantage of the ability. It sounds like we will need to watch the PSP and see what develops.
I don't know how well it works for navigating setting and such but I see interesting options for game play. I was hoping to see this sort of tech in Nintendo's DS or the Sony PSP. Remember all that time we spent as kids playing with plastic boxes and moving BBs aound the maze? I spent hours doing that! Bring this to my phone/handheld, please! I need another way to waste time!
A little bit desperate maybe but a good move overall. Opera is a good browser but I'm not likely to pay money for it on my desktop. On my handheld however, I would be lost without it. Opera really shines in the embedded market and I suspect they make most of their money from this, if they don't now I'm sure that is the direction they are going. I wish them luck. I plan to stick with firefox on my desktop for now but I bet my next phone/palm has Opera on it.
POOR ANALOGY ALERT: The nearest analogy I can think of is Prohibition. You can make alcohol illegal and you can punish people for making it or selling it or drinking it, but there are a lot of people who want to drink and alcohol is VERY easy to make. So every time you close down one source another pops up. There is a demand and you can't control the supply because anyone with enough time can create a new supply.
Now feel free to argue the inappropriate nature of my analogy. Have fun!
I didn't say they had to _avoid_ their field of interest. If they have a strong desire to study a certain area why not get a job as an assistant there. Even on a volunteer basis. Study on your own time or do something really wild and crazy and become unfocused for a little while. The vast majority of people going to college straight from high school have had no self structured time. Most colleges are self motivated programs with few consequences for poor attendance. If you fail to apply yourself that's your loss and not theirs. Having an appreciation for what you are missing would help.
One of the problems is that you are expected to go right to college with no gap. Anything else is seen as odd. I favor a system where you could apply before you leave high school but are encouraged to spend a year doing something else first. I used the word forced above because for most of us that's what it would take to get us to leave the comfort of school structure for something more adventurous. It is important to already have a slot in a university because otherwise it would be too easy to never bother. So you need the structure of high school to ensure you will be able to enter the structure of college. Once that is settled spend sometime outside of that structure.
I was an unfocused moron but some of my extremely focused friends missed a lot too. They made it to class but not sporting events. I made it to social events but not exams (Yes, I actually missed a midterm. I already said I was a moron.) There a several aspects to college, it is important to be able to appreciate all of them. Unfortunately, most of us are not well rounded enough at that stage to do so.
It needs more thought than I can give it but it seems like there should be a way to get people to grow up a little faster, accept personal accountability for their actions and encourage more community involvement. Seems like all that should be part of a well rounded education too.
There is an old saying: Nature abhors a vacuum Let me add another: Nature abhors a surplus And one more: If the stakes are high enough someone will find a way to game the system.
If you want to call it greed that's fine but some are greedy for power and some for more wealth than they could ever spend and some just for enough to eat. I guarantee that there are some siphoning off money/goods donated to the Asian tsunami areas. They are the lowest form of human life and you cannot get rid of them. Kick out the current set and another will fill the void.
Most of us did the same thing on a smaller scale when we were children. "There is a whole bowl full of candy. Mom won't notice if I sneak just one." Some of us still do it now: "The boss won't care if I'm surfing/. if I just read this one story." As the goods/amounts become larger the excuses become more involved but eventually you have the UN, the Oil for Food program, the US DOD, HUD, and government in general and "communists" in Russia killing thousands to cover up the fraud.
This isn't 'real' communism of course. Any commune large enough to be considered a nation is large enough to attract the parisites and we are back to square one.
The most effective method we have found to get rid of the parisites is called Democracy but it doesn't scale very well so we went with the next best, Republic. We vote for them and they vote for us (in our best interest). If they misbehave we don't vote for them next time and someone else gets a chance. This too, has been 'Gamed' by lobbyists and special interest groups who just deal with whoever we send and by companies and contractors who just keep low until conditions are back to the status quo.
Douglas Adams said it best: The major problem---one of the major problems, for there are several--one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it, or rather of whom manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well known fact, that those people who most want to rule people are ipso facto those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do so. To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem. --Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy--
Actually I think they did get it right, or at least closer than usual.
See your quote refers to hardware and software bugs which _every_ system has including open source but in the open source world we are more willing to talk about them and fix them faster. Later the article says: "... the technical hiccups didn't prompt Gates to engage in a hard-hitting analysis of computer reliability and security. Power outages, hardware failures and software bugs often inexplicably humble those who strive for a Windows-based digital lifestyle, and world's most popular operating system is also a favorite target of hackers, virus writers, spies and spammers."
Key bits: "Windows-based" (allows for other NON windows based systems) "World's most popular operating system" (there must be others out there if this is the most popular) "Favorite target" (other systems must be more secure because there are fewer people targeting them (I know there are other reasons we have fewer malicious programs on non-Windows systems but at least they made an attempt. Down Flames, Down!))
And isn't it interesting that he won't talk about it? That sends a message too. Especially to those who have seen these sorts of problems (which every Joe user hit with spyware/hijackware). I wonder why they included that statement. Interesting, don't you think?
You are mostly right, here's an idea of the English system, though keep in mind that I only live here and haven't been through the system myself.
At the end of 'high school' (about age 16) the students take GCSEs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Certificate_o f_Secondary_Education in various subjects and it is up to the students to choose some of these. If you do well on the GCSEs or just like the idea you can go to a Sixth Form College to study for A-Levels http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-levels for two years (or so) in which you pick the subjects. The grades you get on your A-Levels (and the subjects they are in) are used like SAT and ACT scores in the states. High A-level grades get you into better schools etc. Just studying for and passing an A-level is considered a good thing whether you go to University or not.
Note that the term College is generally reserved for Sixth form or trade/technical schools. University is reserved for full blown 'higher education'. Normally you would be accepted by a University based on your A-Levels and the subject you wish to study, which you would have indicated by taking the appropriate A-levels, which you would have set yourself up for by taking the appropriate extra GCSEs way back when you were 16! When you go to University you focus immediately on your chosen subject and are usually in a 3 year program. If you intend to take a gap year it would normally be between Sixth Form and University and normally you would have already applied and been accepted to the University. You then tell them you will be taking a gap year and they agree or not as the case may be.
There is definitely a problem with kids having to know what they want to do at 16 (earlier actually because you need time to study before you take the GCSEs) but in-depth study in the subjects you _think_ you want can help you decide if it is really right for you. Those first two years of US college could be put too better use if you knew your major I think. I'm not sure I like their entire system but that 'gap year' thing sounds good. If you could be accepted at a college and then allowed to show up a year latter kids would be able to see more of the world instead of going from one school right to another.
I think you hit this one: Apathy + an entitlement society means the kids don't care but still expect perfect grades.
I think every kid should be forced to do one year of grunt work somewhere before going to college. I don't care if it is Peace Corps, picking up trash along the highway or working a minimum wage slot at the 7-11. I know a bit of 'real world' experience would have helped me focus in class.
I know, I know... There is always a way to game the system and the upper middle class kids won't get their hands dirty. But a trip abroad is a good way to open up closed minds. Maybe that would be a good subsitute. I currenty live in England and it isn't at all uncommon over here for the kids to take a 'gap year' before going to university. It is actually kind of expected and the entrance system is built to handle it.
Ya, I know they don't really last forever but they do seem to last a lot longer than these new displays. And most of them have a bightness adjustment to make up for the gradual dimming.
Never mind, progress is good right? Actually I really want a screen I can hang on the wall and get rid of that "entertainment center" that takes up even more room. We may be there sooner than I thought.
This is why the book is always better than the movie!
I'm not quite sure this counts as a review however since this is a one off prototype. How's this for an understatement: "Making one is one thing, making many is another and then making them competitive with established screen technologies is a totally other ball game," Semenza said.
The real point of this article (which didn't make the summary for some reason, I wonder why?): "However, the Samsung announcement is noteworthy because its 21-inch prototype OLED relies on amorphous silicon technology, a mature technology used in most LCDs on the market today"
So they can use the same fabs and substrates as the old LCDs. Cheaper and faster to market.
One more quote and then I'll stop I promise: "However, Young also said today's OLED technology -- which averages 10,000 hours until it becomes half as bright -- still lags behind the 30,000- to 50,000-hour lifespans of today's large televisions." By large televisions he must be talking about plasma or something because my CRT based monster will probably be able to throw electrons for the rest of my life (granted, some electronic component will wear out first but still). I'm always amazed at the inconveniences of CRTs. They just don't make them like they used to. All these modern inconveniances, why back in my day...
Now you know why semantics are important. This is/., full of geeks and we still get it wrong. I don't know if the two need to be joined but we need to find some term that avoids the term "free".
It's not funny if I have to explain it. It's not good marketing if you have to correct people everytime!
As I mentioned I think I was just blowing off some steam above and I probably just got trapped in DLL hell for a while there.
Most of what you say is true. Every programmer I know, myself included, has at least had the thought "why can't I get in there and redesign that my self." The GPL, Linux and open source is giving us that opportunity. And about time. Most companies have not found good ways to use this "new way" but it is starting to happen anyway. See the excitement/free publicity generated by several Linux based cable routers for example. Once a peice of hardware becomes 'hacked' and is declared hackable all kinds of new features, interfaces and uses are found. Why the hardware companies are not pursuing this is beyond me.
When I was looking for my own all-in-one remote I started to wonder why the major companies don't at least publish the remote codes on line. Then it occured to me that they would have to admit that this TV is just like that cheaper one but with our name on it. At least that's how it would look to the consumer. Or that's what the corp. execs are afraid might happen.
I long for the day when Linux (or it's equivalent (BSD?)) is on everything. I want the open source model to take over (Hey JVC\RCA\SONY\SAMSUNG, why worry about keeping your interface code secret. You are trying to sell HARDWARE not software!) At the very least why not have a hackable layer on top of the proprietary stuff? Or maybe something like http://www.openfirmware.org/ so if I really want too I can tell my TV to always return the volume to a rational level when I trun it on. (Stupid TV, can't change the volume or channel until it is all the way on! Two seconds of too loud and I hope I don't wake the wife! Everytime!)
On the other hand "UI's will be set by standards, shaped by client preferences, and not by random choices of individual hackers in hundreds of different companies." strikes me as being a pipe dream. Can you think of ANY product that meets this ideal? My parents had an RCA VCR in the early 80s (VCRs were newish then) which had a beautiful interface for recording shows. It worked great and even my mom could use it. I have never seen one since that came close to matching it. Even on other RCA stuff. Why? I wish I knew.
How often have we seen this: "And the good news is that a properly-configured Linux system will work with the device. But it took me a while to figure out that my system wasn't configured properly."
And this is BRUCE PERENS for goodness sake! If he can't get it right who can? I realise that he did figure it out but it sounds like it was frustrating and I can imagine how much more frustrating it would be for someone who doesn't understand the system as well as he does. NOTE: I said THE SYSTEM not Linux!
I just had an issue with an old flatbed scanner on WinXP for instance. It works fine on the system it usually stays on but refuses to work on my new laptop or any other system. I'm sure that "my system wasn't configured properly." And if I knew what to change it would work.
On the other hand, I have several remotes including two from http://www.hometheatermaster.com/ which have always worked flawlessly with all kinds of consumer equipment. TVs, Radios, DVD players you name it. They just work. When will PCs catch up? I don't care if it runs MS or Linux or BSD (though open source is prefered) if it just works it will be an improvement. Maybe it's time to try Apple after all?
I'm glad he got it to work but from the quote above I doubt that I could. The plus side of Linux and open source in general is that I could probably find someone to help me out but it's not guaranteed.
Oh well, I guess that scanner thing annoyed me more than I thought! Sorry for the rant.
This thread is probably far to old to worry about anymore but I thought I had replied earlier. In my sleep deprived state I must have neglected to hit submit. I'll give it one more go...
All of your arguements have some merit. I recently decided to buy all of my DVDs in widescreen format because I expect my next TV to be widescreen. The cost is the same so it just makes sense. The same will be true for HD/Blu-Ray. If there is little cost differential AND they are backwards compatible (the focus of the article if anyone remembers) then even I will buy them. If enough people buy them then the retail players will soon offer compatability for the format (my latest DVD player cost $30, is region free and plays just about any disk I can find. It also has a horrible interface and tends to overheat and lock up but there you go).
You will not be forced to upgrade all of your media but I can assure you that the media companies would love to find the next Big Thing that would encourage you to do so. This is a major fantasy for them. It's like free money.
Now on to backups/storage and hard drive failures. Imagine that you are just an average Joe/Jane with little understanding or DESIRE to understand the mechanics of the situation. you don't worry about back ups and you don't worry about DRM. All you worry about is easy access to entertainment. What you want is to be able to go to iTunes and order songs you like and have them on an iPod like device you can take with you. If your iPod dies a horrible death in a flaming inferno or just falls in the toilet you go buy another one and fill it up again. You shouldn't have to buy the songs again though paying for the bandwidth to download them may be an issue.
Video is even easier because we don't generally (Yet) take our movies with us. What if every TV show or movie was online all the time? You pay a liitle bit for old stuff, more for newer stuff and more sill for "first runs" to be the first on your block to see it. Live sports would also be more than the old stuff and movies would follow the same model. The point here is that it has to be cheap enough and easy enough to make it more trouble to save everything then to just order it again. I may want to watch every episode of Gilligans Island right now but I doubt that I will want to do so again next month. In other words I don't backup the content I let the Cable company/Apple do that. If I have a problem I complain to them.
About half of you are almost screaming at your computers right now. DRM/Lock-in/proprietary formats/Set-top boxes! These are all real and valid concerns and I share them. I also get my TV though a digital cable set top box. The only way I can watch or record anything is by sending it though the box first. This annoys me. It makes my life more difficult and more expensive (I need a separate box for each TV and I have to rent or buy the additional boxes). I am a geek and I long for the good old days when cable ready meant that I could just plug it in and get a picture. And yet I still have digital cable and a proprietary set top box. There are millions more like me out there.
We are not there yet. We need more bandwidth into our homes and there are several other little issues that need to be worked out. The media executives need to remove their heads from the dark place they have stored them and draft new business models and we need the equivalent of a revolution in user interfaces. Can you imagine having to sort though EVERY TV show/movie ever made to find the one you want to watch right now? Something like Amazon's recomended lists will be needed along with other things. Advertising will need to change to fit the new model as well.
Still, I hope that some day I can call up what I want to listen to/watch and never even think about where it comes from or whether I have backed it up. It sould just be there and cheap enough that I don't worry too much about the cost. (Remember when phone calls cost so much that you actually rearranged your schedule to make them. When is the last time you did that?)
God what a long and rambling post. Sorry about that. I'll shut up now.
I don't think the CD->DVD->HD-DVD comparison is valid. Remember, CDs replaced audio casettes and DVDs replaced VHS tapes. A spinning disk was a huge upgrade over reels of tape. Not having to mess with all of that tracking and tape breakage/streching plus having to clean the heads. God, what a nightmare and thank God we're past all that.
I think the media executives have learned the wrong lesson from CDs and DVDs. They now seem to be looking for the next break away format which will convince us to once again replace our entire entertainment collections. To them this is like free money. They think they can get us there by offering something with improved resolution or fidelity.
Most of us however, our reasonably happy with what we have now (just like most of us were reasonably happy with VHS except for the mechanical difficulties noted above). Now us geeks and the hardcore video/audio folks may think HD is a good upgrade but I noticed that very few chose laserdisk when they had the option. Price and convenience is why we moved to CDs and DVDs not better quality, that was just the bonus.
Now I can't think of a more convenient media than spinning disks but what if we could find a way to get rid of the media all together? Why that sounds a lot like an iPod doesn't it? iTunes? iVids?
My prediction: The next big thing for delivering entertainment to the user will be TCP/IP. Shocking I know but there it is.
Yes, but see, what happens is some geek or moderately annoyed user takes these complicated steps and combinds them into one easy to use program. This program is free for all and soon everyone is using it. DeCSS would be a good history lesson but that was actually far more compicated then breaking this seems to be.
One strategy which seems to motivate people is to turn the selfish need to be on top in your local neighborhood into a selfish need to be on top of a newly discovered neighborhood. OK, bad sentence, but what I mean is if you point certain types of people at a NEW land they will do just about ANYTHING to get there before their peers can. What we need is a new frontier. Truly a new world.
I'm not talking about Mars here either. And if any of you are thinking Mars or the Moon then remember that to meet the criteria of saving the species you have to be self reliant. No potatoes from back home, no imports of any kind.
Our best chance as far as I can see is to find an earth like planet in a nearby system. Long shot I know, but bear with me. If we find some planet around Alpha Centauri or not too much farther out (12 light years or less, say) with indications of life there will be a HUGE push to get something there to check it out. If conditions are right for self sufficiency then a colony ship would soon be on its way.
We don't think of the Moon or Mars this way because no one really believes that these places can be made self sufficient.
How long will we have to put up with this LEGO monopoly? Will Megablox answer this challenge? That upstart Knex, perhaps?
Back in my day we had to build our mechanical analogs of digital circuits out of Tinkertoys! And we liked it! What's this new fangled "plastic" stuff anyway. Wood! that's the way to go.
On a slightly more serious note: If we had built some of these in my CS3?? class instead of just diagraming them on paper I might have paid more attention. But I doubt it.
Slashdot Mirror
It is stupid to believe something without data. What is you have data? Does millennia of selective breeding data become invalid because it would be stupid (not PC) to apply that to humans? Or should we look at the data objectively and use it to our advantage; not to shut people out, not to stereotype in job interviews but to further our understanding of the human species.
I doubt that this professor knows a damn thing about the subject but he is at least willing to SAY he doesn't know anything about it.
-----
It was noticed in England that boys in school were falling behind the girls in test scores. Someone thought that there might be a basic genetic difference between the two so it would be better to have all boys in one class and all girls in the other.
The result was reported as a failure. You see, while the boys _did_ learn more in a same sex class room, the girls did even better yet! That meant that the gap had grown and of course the gap was the problem. So the girls could be learning more than they are but they are being held back so they don't get too far ahead of the boys.
----
It is better in today's society to treat everyone the same (no child left behind) than to make sure everyone has a chance to excel at their own personal talents. For some vague reason this pisses me off!
If the majority of women have a harder time with math that might be because we are teaching it to them in the wrong way or it might be because we are teaching it to them at the wrong time or it might be something else entirely. Why can we not do the research to find ways to do it better? Are you trying to keep women from learning math or me from saying there might be a difference?
Perhaps we should not disregard the statistics entierly just to accommodate the exception? Statistics has many ways of dealing with this distibution but I can't remember what they are at the moment. In any case, it seems like we are moving away from the science dominated methodology of the 50s (science won the war and then got us to the moon) to a less rigorous model where one exception is enough to scrap the theory and the data.
:)
Maybe we should spend some time finding out what the actual, biological, differences are between men and women. In the past these diffeneces were assumed. We broke though those stereotypes and have now acepted another one: There are no diffences. I can tell you from experience that is untrue! (If you can't think of any biological differences you may need to check some other web sites
First, it sounds like this tech may not quite be ready for prime time gaming.
Second, I have never used the EyeToy but what I'm looking for is something portable. I want to be able to pull out my [device] and, using only one hand (see, nothing up my sleeve!), play the equivilent of Marble blaster. Nothing fancy or overly complicated. I don't want to play Quake 3, just little things to pass the time at the bus stop or on the train. The frustrations from having the train stop or start would just be part of the fun.
I suspect that a new breed of game would spring up to take advantage of the ability. It sounds like we will need to watch the PSP and see what develops.
I don't know how well it works for navigating setting and such but I see interesting options for game play. I was hoping to see this sort of tech in Nintendo's DS or the Sony PSP.
Remember all that time we spent as kids playing with plastic boxes and moving BBs aound the maze? I spent hours doing that! Bring this to my phone/handheld, please! I need another way to waste time!
A little bit desperate maybe but a good move overall. Opera is a good browser but I'm not likely to pay money for it on my desktop. On my handheld however, I would be lost without it. Opera really shines in the embedded market and I suspect they make most of their money from this, if they don't now I'm sure that is the direction they are going. I wish them luck.
I plan to stick with firefox on my desktop for now but I bet my next phone/palm has Opera on it.
POOR ANALOGY ALERT:
The nearest analogy I can think of is Prohibition. You can make alcohol illegal and you can punish people for making it or selling it or drinking it, but there are a lot of people who want to drink and alcohol is VERY easy to make. So every time you close down one source another pops up. There is a demand and you can't control the supply because anyone with enough time can create a new supply.
Now feel free to argue the inappropriate nature of my analogy. Have fun!
I didn't say they had to _avoid_ their field of interest. If they have a strong desire to study a certain area why not get a job as an assistant there. Even on a volunteer basis. Study on your own time or do something really wild and crazy and become unfocused for a little while. The vast majority of people going to college straight from high school have had no self structured time. Most colleges are self motivated programs with few consequences for poor attendance. If you fail to apply yourself that's your loss and not theirs. Having an appreciation for what you are missing would help.
One of the problems is that you are expected to go right to college with no gap. Anything else is seen as odd. I favor a system where you could apply before you leave high school but are encouraged to spend a year doing something else first. I used the word forced above because for most of us that's what it would take to get us to leave the comfort of school structure for something more adventurous. It is important to already have a slot in a university because otherwise it would be too easy to never bother. So you need the structure of high school to ensure you will be able to enter the structure of college. Once that is settled spend sometime outside of that structure.
I was an unfocused moron but some of my extremely focused friends missed a lot too. They made it to class but not sporting events. I made it to social events but not exams (Yes, I actually missed a midterm. I already said I was a moron.) There a several aspects to college, it is important to be able to appreciate all of them. Unfortunately, most of us are not well rounded enough at that stage to do so.
It needs more thought than I can give it but it seems like there should be a way to get people to grow up a little faster, accept personal accountability for their actions and encourage more community involvement. Seems like all that should be part of a well rounded education too.
There is an old saying: Nature abhors a vacuum
/. if I just read this one story." As the goods/amounts become larger the excuses become more involved but eventually you have the UN, the Oil for Food program, the US DOD, HUD, and government in general and "communists" in Russia killing thousands to cover up the fraud.
Let me add another: Nature abhors a surplus
And one more: If the stakes are high enough someone will find a way to game the system.
If you want to call it greed that's fine but some are greedy for power and some for more wealth than they could ever spend and some just for enough to eat. I guarantee that there are some siphoning off money/goods donated to the Asian tsunami areas. They are the lowest form of human life and you cannot get rid of them. Kick out the current set and another will fill the void.
Most of us did the same thing on a smaller scale when we were children. "There is a whole bowl full of candy. Mom won't notice if I sneak just one." Some of us still do it now: "The boss won't care if I'm surfing
This isn't 'real' communism of course. Any commune large enough to be considered a nation is large enough to attract the parisites and we are back to square one.
The most effective method we have found to get rid of the parisites is called Democracy but it doesn't scale very well so we went with the next best, Republic. We vote for them and they vote for us (in our best interest). If they misbehave we don't vote for them next time and someone else gets a chance. This too, has been 'Gamed' by lobbyists and special interest groups who just deal with whoever we send and by companies and contractors who just keep low until conditions are back to the status quo.
Douglas Adams said it best:
The major problem---one of the major problems, for there are several--one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it, or rather of whom manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well known fact, that those people who most want to rule people are ipso facto those least suited to do it.
To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do so.
To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem.
--Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy--
Actually I think they did get it right, or at least closer than usual.
See your quote refers to hardware and software bugs which _every_ system has including open source but in the open source world we are more willing to talk about them and fix them faster.
Later the article says:
"... the technical hiccups didn't prompt Gates to engage in a hard-hitting analysis of computer reliability and security. Power outages, hardware failures and software bugs often inexplicably humble those who strive for a Windows-based digital lifestyle, and world's most popular operating system is also a favorite target of hackers, virus writers, spies and spammers."
Key bits:
"Windows-based" (allows for other NON windows based systems)
"World's most popular operating system" (there must be others out there if this is the most popular)
"Favorite target" (other systems must be more secure because there are fewer people targeting them (I know there are other reasons we have fewer malicious programs on non-Windows systems but at least they made an attempt. Down Flames, Down!))
And isn't it interesting that he won't talk about it? That sends a message too. Especially to those who have seen these sorts of problems (which every Joe user hit with spyware/hijackware). I wonder why they included that statement. Interesting, don't you think?
You are mostly right, here's an idea of the English system, though keep in mind that I only live here and haven't been through the system myself.
o f_Secondary_Education in various subjects and it is up to the students to choose some of these. If you do well on the GCSEs or just like the idea you can go to a Sixth Form College to study for A-Levels http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-levels for two years (or so) in which you pick the subjects. The grades you get on your A-Levels (and the subjects they are in) are used like SAT and ACT scores in the states. High A-level grades get you into better schools etc. Just studying for and passing an A-level is considered a good thing whether you go to University or not.
At the end of 'high school' (about age 16) the students take GCSEs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Certificate_
Note that the term College is generally reserved for Sixth form or trade/technical schools. University is reserved for full blown 'higher education'.
Normally you would be accepted by a University based on your A-Levels and the subject you wish to study, which you would have indicated by taking the appropriate A-levels, which you would have set yourself up for by taking the appropriate extra GCSEs way back when you were 16!
When you go to University you focus immediately on your chosen subject and are usually in a 3 year program. If you intend to take a gap year it would normally be between Sixth Form and University and normally you would have already applied and been accepted to the University. You then tell them you will be taking a gap year and they agree or not as the case may be.
There is definitely a problem with kids having to know what they want to do at 16 (earlier actually because you need time to study before you take the GCSEs) but in-depth study in the subjects you _think_ you want can help you decide if it is really right for you. Those first two years of US college could be put too better use if you knew your major I think. I'm not sure I like their entire system but that 'gap year' thing sounds good. If you could be accepted at a college and then allowed to show up a year latter kids would be able to see more of the world instead of going from one school right to another.
A bit more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_England
I'm sure that's more than you wanted to know. Sorry about that.
P.S. Oxford and Cambridge Universities are a whole 'nother kettle of fish. I won't even try to explain them.
I think you hit this one: Apathy + an entitlement society means the kids don't care but still expect perfect grades.
.02
I think every kid should be forced to do one year of grunt work somewhere before going to college. I don't care if it is Peace Corps, picking up trash along the highway or working a minimum wage slot at the 7-11. I know a bit of 'real world' experience would have helped me focus in class.
I know, I know... There is always a way to game the system and the upper middle class kids won't get their hands dirty. But a trip abroad is a good way to open up closed minds. Maybe that would be a good subsitute. I currenty live in England and it isn't at all uncommon over here for the kids to take a 'gap year' before going to university. It is actually kind of expected and the entrance system is built to handle it.
Just my
Ya, I know they don't really last forever but they do seem to last a lot longer than these new displays. And most of them have a bightness adjustment to make up for the gradual dimming.
Never mind, progress is good right? Actually I really want a screen I can hang on the wall and get rid of that "entertainment center" that takes up even more room. We may be there sooner than I thought.
This is why the book is always better than the movie!
I'm not quite sure this counts as a review however since this is a one off prototype. How's this for an understatement:
"Making one is one thing, making many is another and then making them competitive with established screen technologies is a totally other ball game," Semenza said.
The real point of this article (which didn't make the summary for some reason, I wonder why?):
"However, the Samsung announcement is noteworthy because its 21-inch prototype OLED relies on amorphous silicon technology, a mature technology used in most LCDs on the market today"
So they can use the same fabs and substrates as the old LCDs. Cheaper and faster to market.
One more quote and then I'll stop I promise:
"However, Young also said today's OLED technology -- which averages 10,000 hours until it becomes half as bright -- still lags behind the 30,000- to 50,000-hour lifespans of today's large televisions."
By large televisions he must be talking about plasma or something because my CRT based monster will probably be able to throw electrons for the rest of my life (granted, some electronic component will wear out first but still). I'm always amazed at the inconveniences of CRTs. They just don't make them like they used to. All these modern inconveniances, why back in my day...
What a missed opportunity for you! This is one of the few stories which fit this old joke perfectly.
Observe...
1. Steal Pizza Box (because you're really hungry)
2. ??? (Where's the pizza? Is this a laptop? In a pizza box?)
3. Profit!
How about a versioning file system?
Now you know why semantics are important. This is /., full of geeks and we still get it wrong. I don't know if the two need to be joined but we need to find some term that avoids the term "free".
It's not funny if I have to explain it.
It's not good marketing if you have to correct people everytime!
Ya, I actually agree. Kind of.
As I mentioned I think I was just blowing off some steam above and I probably just got trapped in DLL hell for a while there.
Most of what you say is true. Every programmer I know, myself included, has at least had the thought "why can't I get in there and redesign that my self." The GPL, Linux and open source is giving us that opportunity. And about time. Most companies have not found good ways to use this "new way" but it is starting to happen anyway. See the excitement/free publicity generated by several Linux based cable routers for example. Once a peice of hardware becomes 'hacked' and is declared hackable all kinds of new features, interfaces and uses are found. Why the hardware companies are not pursuing this is beyond me.
When I was looking for my own all-in-one remote I started to wonder why the major companies don't at least publish the remote codes on line. Then it occured to me that they would have to admit that this TV is just like that cheaper one but with our name on it. At least that's how it would look to the consumer. Or that's what the corp. execs are afraid might happen.
I long for the day when Linux (or it's equivalent (BSD?)) is on everything. I want the open source model to take over (Hey JVC\RCA\SONY\SAMSUNG, why worry about keeping your interface code secret. You are trying to sell HARDWARE not software!) At the very least why not have a hackable layer on top of the proprietary stuff? Or maybe something like http://www.openfirmware.org/ so if I really want too I can tell my TV to always return the volume to a rational level when I trun it on. (Stupid TV, can't change the volume or channel until it is all the way on! Two seconds of too loud and I hope I don't wake the wife! Everytime!)
On the other hand "UI's will be set by standards, shaped by client preferences, and not by random choices of individual hackers in hundreds of different companies." strikes me as being a pipe dream. Can you think of ANY product that meets this ideal? My parents had an RCA VCR in the early 80s (VCRs were newish then) which had a beautiful interface for recording shows. It worked great and even my mom could use it. I have never seen one since that came close to matching it. Even on other RCA stuff. Why? I wish I knew.
How often have we seen this:
"And the good news is that a properly-configured Linux system will work with the device. But it took me a while to figure out that my system wasn't configured properly."
And this is BRUCE PERENS for goodness sake! If he can't get it right who can? I realise that he did figure it out but it sounds like it was frustrating and I can imagine how much more frustrating it would be for someone who doesn't understand the system as well as he does. NOTE: I said THE SYSTEM not Linux!
I just had an issue with an old flatbed scanner on WinXP for instance. It works fine on the system it usually stays on but refuses to work on my new laptop or any other system. I'm sure that "my system wasn't configured properly." And if I knew what to change it would work.
On the other hand, I have several remotes including two from http://www.hometheatermaster.com/ which have always worked flawlessly with all kinds of consumer equipment. TVs, Radios, DVD players you name it. They just work. When will PCs catch up? I don't care if it runs MS or Linux or BSD (though open source is prefered) if it just works it will be an improvement. Maybe it's time to try Apple after all?
I'm glad he got it to work but from the quote above I doubt that I could. The plus side of Linux and open source in general is that I could probably find someone to help me out but it's not guaranteed.
Oh well, I guess that scanner thing annoyed me more than I thought! Sorry for the rant.
This thread is probably far to old to worry about anymore but I thought I had replied earlier. In my sleep deprived state I must have neglected to hit submit. I'll give it one more go...
All of your arguements have some merit. I recently decided to buy all of my DVDs in widescreen format because I expect my next TV to be widescreen. The cost is the same so it just makes sense. The same will be true for HD/Blu-Ray. If there is little cost differential AND they are backwards compatible (the focus of the article if anyone remembers) then even I will buy them. If enough people buy them then the retail players will soon offer compatability for the format (my latest DVD player cost $30, is region free and plays just about any disk I can find. It also has a horrible interface and tends to overheat and lock up but there you go).
You will not be forced to upgrade all of your media but I can assure you that the media companies would love to find the next Big Thing that would encourage you to do so. This is a major fantasy for them. It's like free money.
Now on to backups/storage and hard drive failures. Imagine that you are just an average Joe/Jane with little understanding or DESIRE to understand the mechanics of the situation. you don't worry about back ups and you don't worry about DRM. All you worry about is easy access to entertainment. What you want is to be able to go to iTunes and order songs you like and have them on an iPod like device you can take with you. If your iPod dies a horrible death in a flaming inferno or just falls in the toilet you go buy another one and fill it up again. You shouldn't have to buy the songs again though paying for the bandwidth to download them may be an issue.
Video is even easier because we don't generally (Yet) take our movies with us. What if every TV show or movie was online all the time? You pay a liitle bit for old stuff, more for newer stuff and more sill for "first runs" to be the first on your block to see it. Live sports would also be more than the old stuff and movies would follow the same model. The point here is that it has to be cheap enough and easy enough to make it more trouble to save everything then to just order it again. I may want to watch every episode of Gilligans Island right now but I doubt that I will want to do so again next month. In other words I don't backup the content I let the Cable company/Apple do that. If I have a problem I complain to them.
About half of you are almost screaming at your computers right now. DRM/Lock-in/proprietary formats/Set-top boxes! These are all real and valid concerns and I share them. I also get my TV though a digital cable set top box. The only way I can watch or record anything is by sending it though the box first. This annoys me. It makes my life more difficult and more expensive (I need a separate box for each TV and I have to rent or buy the additional boxes). I am a geek and I long for the good old days when cable ready meant that I could just plug it in and get a picture. And yet I still have digital cable and a proprietary set top box. There are millions more like me out there.
We are not there yet. We need more bandwidth into our homes and there are several other little issues that need to be worked out. The media executives need to remove their heads from the dark place they have stored them and draft new business models and we need the equivalent of a revolution in user interfaces. Can you imagine having to sort though EVERY TV show/movie ever made to find the one you want to watch right now? Something like Amazon's recomended lists will be needed along with other things. Advertising will need to change to fit the new model as well.
Still, I hope that some day I can call up what I want to listen to/watch and never even think about where it comes from or whether I have backed it up. It sould just be there and cheap enough that I don't worry too much about the cost. (Remember when phone calls cost so much that you actually rearranged your schedule to make them. When is the last time you did that?)
God what a long and rambling post. Sorry about that. I'll shut up now.
Cheers
I don't think the CD->DVD->HD-DVD comparison is valid. Remember, CDs replaced audio casettes and DVDs replaced VHS tapes. A spinning disk was a huge upgrade over reels of tape. Not having to mess with all of that tracking and tape breakage/streching plus having to clean the heads. God, what a nightmare and thank God we're past all that.
I think the media executives have learned the wrong lesson from CDs and DVDs. They now seem to be looking for the next break away format which will convince us to once again replace our entire entertainment collections. To them this is like free money. They think they can get us there by offering something with improved resolution or fidelity.
Most of us however, our reasonably happy with what we have now (just like most of us were reasonably happy with VHS except for the mechanical difficulties noted above). Now us geeks and the hardcore video/audio folks may think HD is a good upgrade but I noticed that very few chose laserdisk when they had the option. Price and convenience is why we moved to CDs and DVDs not better quality, that was just the bonus.
Now I can't think of a more convenient media than spinning disks but what if we could find a way to get rid of the media all together? Why that sounds a lot like an iPod doesn't it? iTunes? iVids?
My prediction: The next big thing for delivering entertainment to the user will be TCP/IP. Shocking I know but there it is.
This is the Internet just because it is illegal doesn't mean Timmy can't find it. It just means T Timmy's dad is going to be in a lot of trouble.
;)
P.S. Happy searching Tim
The mystery is how long it will take Dyson to sue them.
(No, not Freeman Dyson, James Dyson )
Yes, but see, what happens is some geek or moderately annoyed user takes these complicated steps and combinds them into one easy to use program. This program is free for all and soon everyone is using it. DeCSS would be a good history lesson but that was actually far more compicated then breaking this seems to be.
One strategy which seems to motivate people is to turn the selfish need to be on top in your local neighborhood into a selfish need to be on top of a newly discovered neighborhood. OK, bad sentence, but what I mean is if you point certain types of people at a NEW land they will do just about ANYTHING to get there before their peers can. What we need is a new frontier. Truly a new world.
I'm not talking about Mars here either. And if any of you are thinking Mars or the Moon then remember that to meet the criteria of saving the species you have to be self reliant. No potatoes from back home, no imports of any kind.
Our best chance as far as I can see is to find an earth like planet in a nearby system. Long shot I know, but bear with me. If we find some planet around Alpha Centauri or not too much farther out (12 light years or less, say) with indications of life there will be a HUGE push to get something there to check it out. If conditions are right for self sufficiency then a colony ship would soon be on its way.
We don't think of the Moon or Mars this way because no one really believes that these places can be made self sufficient.
That's my 2 cents anyway.
How long will we have to put up with this LEGO monopoly? Will Megablox answer this challenge? That upstart Knex, perhaps?
Back in my day we had to build our mechanical analogs of digital circuits out of Tinkertoys! And we liked it! What's this new fangled "plastic" stuff anyway. Wood! that's the way to go.
On a slightly more serious note: If we had built some of these in my CS3?? class instead of just diagraming them on paper I might have paid more attention. But I doubt it.