The only reason other countries aren't wasting resources as fast as the US is because they haven't developed their economies sufficiently to enable them to do so.
It's a terribly sad state of affairs, and in the next 1000 years it will change or we will all be in a world of hurt.
You are welcome for: Baywatch, and the rest of Hollywood's output.
Apparently, the rest of the world really likes watching the imaginary output of America's film industry... sure, there's a little locally produced content here and there, but, honestly, who's the world's top exporter of entertainment?
The BEST thing I can say for this election outcome is that the District of Columbia voted 97%-3% against it. There will be lots of upset apple carts in the Capitol - which can't be too bad of a thing, considering where the entrenched bureaucrats have let us go over the past 40 years.
Not just the Soviets, the whole world. It's really cool that we were able to demonstrate "our might" without having to actually kill anybody or blow anything up (on purpose). Both sides' ability to build and deliver arbitrarily large nuclear weapons was solidly demonstrated by 1963, and the babies of the world only got a little fallout in their milk. The space race was an even cleaner way of flexing military might without painting the hardware in camo.
This is a defense contractor, they will not take a loss. Even if they take a loss on this program, it will be made back via profits from other programs. Since they aren't allowed to work for other countries, all this money comes from one place.
The logic goes: the overpriced weapon system makes the world safe for democracy, without it there would be no capacity (peace) in which to train scientists, engineers, doctors, nurses, etc. The question is: do we need to spend $1T/year ($2800/year per capita) doing this, or maybe could we get by with $2600, or even $1400 per year per capita, if we did it smarter? If we guess wrong and underspend, the consequences could be... severe.
Personally, I think we can do it for less, and do it better. But, then, I'm not stupid enough to want the job of President.
The military also spins off a lot of technology, networks for instance.
Really? None of that would have been invented without blowing things up?
Really, yes. Without competition, threat of annihilation, etc. bread and circuses rule the day. Networks, jet engines, satellites are all used to deliver bread and circuses today, but they wouldn't have been developed if that was their only use.
Less potential side damage means greater political ability to use, and thus greater deterrent. It make strikes possible where they were not possible before, and that's worth paying for - if it works.
There's a difference between NRE and per unit production costs. The $80K pricetag was based on an assumed volume of production. Slash that production, per unit costs rise accordingly. Now, since they've cancelled the $800K per copy order, I assume the taxpayer will be shelling out several Billion just to cover NREs, without a volume production line spun up to make the things. Which is fine, if the world still believes that we can spin up such a production line in short order, it's almost as effective a deterrent as a live-fire exercise where a ship 100 miles away levels all the target buildings in a small town in 60 seconds.
The 50% accuracy circle is nice, but I wonder, when a shell goes astray, how far does it wander?
Cosmodrome (available here if you subscribe https://www.netflix.com/title/... probably many other places if you don't) shows the Russians keeping pigs in their failed moon race rocket facility. Their leadership doesn't lose very gracefully.
Somebody forgot to mention: Use a clean Linux OS - Windows 10 can't be good for your data privacy. Maybe too obvious for this crowd, but it still has to be said.
Or, you know, incognito mode via a prepaid cell phone that you bought cash... that should be good enough for most people.
If you're ultra paranoid, you could set up a relay with two more cell phones so that the websites you are visiting trace back to the relay's cell tower instead of your physical location, but that seems like more trouble that could possibly be justified - unless you're doing something illegal.
That's why "evil big government" declared that phone and electric utilities must serve all residents, everywhere. Broadband hasn't gotten that level of political support yet, maybe it will when it starts to replace physical travel, school and office buildings, etc.
Central Alaska may be "in the US," but I wouldn't hold my breath for services to arrive in your lifetime...
Florida has pretty good broadband coverage, even in the "boonies," since most everything is 50 miles or less to a metro area.
When you hit the Midwest, deep desert Southwest, mountains, etc. that's getting back to places so sparse that running good service fiber or cables isn't likely to be economical, ever - learn to make do with satellite or wireless. There's more than one reason the Unabomber holed up in a cabin in Montana.
Clever compression algorithms would recognize uncorrelated noise and edit it out of the data compressed and stored.
But, you're right, they won't roll that out in 1.0, or likely ever because this is a boneheaded idea with a tiny niche market that could see any value in it that outweighs the creep factor. But, if a significant number of wiseguys who were forced to be subjected to this by their employer decided to turn on the white noise, the company could eventually deal with it - probably first with a corporate "DON'T DO THAT!" ban, followed a couple of years later by a technical solution that doesn't make them look like incompetent ninnies.
I have enough faith in humanity to believe that the company will fail first for other more important reasons, before such a problem needs a solution.
Slashdot Mirror
The only reason other countries aren't wasting resources as fast as the US is because they haven't developed their economies sufficiently to enable them to do so.
It's a terribly sad state of affairs, and in the next 1000 years it will change or we will all be in a world of hurt.
The Brits got their asses handed to them so frequently that they eventually gave up.
At least that's how it looks from a U.S. taught world history course.
You are welcome for: Baywatch, and the rest of Hollywood's output.
Apparently, the rest of the world really likes watching the imaginary output of America's film industry... sure, there's a little locally produced content here and there, but, honestly, who's the world's top exporter of entertainment?
The immigrant glory days are over - anyone can afford trans-oceanic travel these days, not just the best and brightest.
Low power on your head, ow!
The BEST thing I can say for this election outcome is that the District of Columbia voted 97%-3% against it. There will be lots of upset apple carts in the Capitol - which can't be too bad of a thing, considering where the entrenched bureaucrats have let us go over the past 40 years.
Not just the Soviets, the whole world. It's really cool that we were able to demonstrate "our might" without having to actually kill anybody or blow anything up (on purpose). Both sides' ability to build and deliver arbitrarily large nuclear weapons was solidly demonstrated by 1963, and the babies of the world only got a little fallout in their milk. The space race was an even cleaner way of flexing military might without painting the hardware in camo.
This is a defense contractor, they will not take a loss. Even if they take a loss on this program, it will be made back via profits from other programs. Since they aren't allowed to work for other countries, all this money comes from one place.
Stealth drones are for actually achieving a destructive objective.
Flashy weapon systems are mostly for not having to actually destroy anything, yet still achieving a political objective.
The logic goes: the overpriced weapon system makes the world safe for democracy, without it there would be no capacity (peace) in which to train scientists, engineers, doctors, nurses, etc. The question is: do we need to spend $1T/year ($2800/year per capita) doing this, or maybe could we get by with $2600, or even $1400 per year per capita, if we did it smarter? If we guess wrong and underspend, the consequences could be... severe.
Personally, I think we can do it for less, and do it better. But, then, I'm not stupid enough to want the job of President.
I agree, right up to the point that we can't be invaded.
Castle walls are obsolete, everybody is invaded all the time - with minor exceptions like North Korea.
The military also spins off a lot of technology, networks for instance.
Really? None of that would have been invented without blowing things up?
Really, yes. Without competition, threat of annihilation, etc. bread and circuses rule the day. Networks, jet engines, satellites are all used to deliver bread and circuses today, but they wouldn't have been developed if that was their only use.
Less potential side damage means greater political ability to use, and thus greater deterrent. It make strikes possible where they were not possible before, and that's worth paying for - if it works.
There's a difference between NRE and per unit production costs. The $80K pricetag was based on an assumed volume of production. Slash that production, per unit costs rise accordingly. Now, since they've cancelled the $800K per copy order, I assume the taxpayer will be shelling out several Billion just to cover NREs, without a volume production line spun up to make the things. Which is fine, if the world still believes that we can spin up such a production line in short order, it's almost as effective a deterrent as a live-fire exercise where a ship 100 miles away levels all the target buildings in a small town in 60 seconds.
The 50% accuracy circle is nice, but I wonder, when a shell goes astray, how far does it wander?
Cosmodrome (available here if you subscribe https://www.netflix.com/title/... probably many other places if you don't) shows the Russians keeping pigs in their failed moon race rocket facility. Their leadership doesn't lose very gracefully.
Spoof your MACs.
Somebody forgot to mention: Use a clean Linux OS - Windows 10 can't be good for your data privacy. Maybe too obvious for this crowd, but it still has to be said.
I prefer the Estwing sure strike 3lb sledge against a poured concrete base myself - very effective at cracking memory chips in half.
Using TOR is painting a target on your forehead - it will even play poorly in the jury trial when they describe it.
Or, you know, incognito mode via a prepaid cell phone that you bought cash... that should be good enough for most people.
If you're ultra paranoid, you could set up a relay with two more cell phones so that the websites you are visiting trace back to the relay's cell tower instead of your physical location, but that seems like more trouble that could possibly be justified - unless you're doing something illegal.
That's why "evil big government" declared that phone and electric utilities must serve all residents, everywhere. Broadband hasn't gotten that level of political support yet, maybe it will when it starts to replace physical travel, school and office buildings, etc.
Central Alaska may be "in the US," but I wouldn't hold my breath for services to arrive in your lifetime...
Florida has pretty good broadband coverage, even in the "boonies," since most everything is 50 miles or less to a metro area.
When you hit the Midwest, deep desert Southwest, mountains, etc. that's getting back to places so sparse that running good service fiber or cables isn't likely to be economical, ever - learn to make do with satellite or wireless. There's more than one reason the Unabomber holed up in a cabin in Montana.
Ask George Orwell about 1984.
Clever compression algorithms would recognize uncorrelated noise and edit it out of the data compressed and stored.
But, you're right, they won't roll that out in 1.0, or likely ever because this is a boneheaded idea with a tiny niche market that could see any value in it that outweighs the creep factor. But, if a significant number of wiseguys who were forced to be subjected to this by their employer decided to turn on the white noise, the company could eventually deal with it - probably first with a corporate "DON'T DO THAT!" ban, followed a couple of years later by a technical solution that doesn't make them look like incompetent ninnies.
I have enough faith in humanity to believe that the company will fail first for other more important reasons, before such a problem needs a solution.
Why do you think we have broadband instead of 28Kbaud modems? It's not so you can watch Netflix, it's so Netflix can watch you!