I've always wondered, but never had the time nor determiniation to find out, whether weather forecasts are more or less accurate than coin tosses and dice. I've always wanted to run an experiment similar to this :
Take the 5 day temp forecast from a national weather site (NWS/weather.com, etc) and write the high / lows on one row.
Then, flip a coin and roll a single die. Start with yesterday's high and low.
If you toss "heads" then add the number rolled on the die to the high temp for that day. If you toss "tails" then subtract. Do this for high and low temps for each of the five days.
Repeat this routine for a while, logging actual temps, then, after a certain amount of time. Compare your "forecasts" to the NWS / weather.com forecasts.
I've always wondered which would be more accurate.
I seem to recall about 5 years ago the RIAA lost a huge government case whereby the government insisted that CD prices (at the time averaging around $20 - $25) were out of line with actual cost. As I recall, the government won that case and CD prices fell to the current $13 - $18 range.
This seems to me a media ploy from the RIAA to "claim" that they have a just reason to raise the price of a CD back to the pre-lawsuit range.
Nevermind the fact that the production costs have plummeted.
Based on my rough calculations (rough = not really doing any research, just making a point), and using the same logic as the RIAA, microwaves should be retailing for about $4000, radios for well over $50,000 and a car should be in the millions.
The ability to deliver wireless electricity has been known decades. The big problem has been how to determine who uses what. I believe Tesla proposed a huge power generator that could be used to power all the electricity needs of a city wirelessly. His idea was, of course, shot down because no one knew who to charge for what.
I, for one, think that it's about time to move on from the Shatner / Nimoy combo. After all, the only end result of sticking with those two for playing Kirk and Spock is a movie about geriatrics (sp?).
I think www.newvoyages.com is probably where paramount should look for guidance. They've cast all new (and pretty much unknown) actors for the roles. Take a look at the episodes, the story lines, IMO, are on par with the original series. Sure the acting and special effects are a little shotty, but overall, that's the best ST story lines I've seen since TNG.
Bottom line: If Star Trek wants to continue with the Kirk / Spock story lines, we need to realize that they're characters, and not the actors, that we like.
"The UN is so corrupt, incompetent, and inept that it make the U. S. Govt look brilliant!"
That's because of the fundamental design flaw in it's structure. I'm a firm believer that if we were to drop the 5 "permanent" members of the UN Security Council, and stop allowing one of those members to hold hostage any meaningfull dialog, it would solve alot of the problems at the UN.
not sure what people are thinking, but everyone is already required to at least pay Federal income tax (in the US)...
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc419.html... on all winnings. Of course you can offset your "winnings" with your "losses". And I know that we all have little notepads to write down exactly what we won and lost on each hand of Texas Hold'em and blackjack, right?
I do know that the casinos where I live will take out federal and state tax on a winning jackpot (because it's a documented win) but obviously have no way to really figure out how much you lost on the quarter machine to get that. So I can't imagine it being too difficult to claim that you lost more than you one in any given year. After all, the house ALWAYS has an advantage!
So let me get this straight. Microsoft Windows, already running (by default) background processes that hackers contantly exploit, comes up with an idea to add another automatic process to "increase" security?
And to top it off, Windows users have to PAY for that?
Isn't that like having a bank having to pay to have their security system installed by the mafia?
Although I certainly regard this as good news in general for small businesses, it does bring up a concern.
Recently there seems to have been a rise in "patent trolling", I hope that this ruling does not cause "patent exploitation". I worry that, big business being what it is today, will use this as an excuse to further exploit other's patents without recourse.
If someone has a legitimate invention that they patented, they should be able to stop others from unlawfully using their work.
Not trying to disagree with the ruling, just saying that there are two sides to this coin.
Come on. Maybe I'm a little old fashioned (I am over 20) but I would certainly consider having google make a rendition of my work to (assumedly) celebrate my birthday (or other event) an honor. But I guess if your an "artist" going for the "I'm poor, struggling and not recognized for my talent" approach, this could be devestating to your "morals".
If google really wanted to get all pissy about this, they should just laugh and say "ha ha" it's a parody on your art work and therefore protected! Ha ha you're a funny artist!
'...geez, get a decent computer where you can actually read the text and you're not sitting there cranking the thing while you're trying to type,' Gates said.'
You forgot to add "from his Windows CE powered PDA IM message"
I've said it before, but I can't understand why the government needs this data when they already have search results from MSN, Yahoo, and AOL. One would think that statistical analysis should be able to give enough information to make or break their case already. What are they looking for from a MOE perspective?
I'm just not sure what they need this data for. Are the google search results that much different than MSN or "live.com"???
Very true. The community should listen to what people like Dell are saying. BUT, people like Dell need to realize that the open source movement is heavily grounded in Free (as in freedom) stuff. Converging on one platform / code base / whatever takes that away.
I want the freedom to choose what OS I run on my system, and I'm willing to accept "some" hardware incompatibility issues for that freedom.
I just wish Dell would offer an OS as an "option" not a "requirement".
They have thousands of drop downs when you order for just about anything you could want on your system, but you're almost always stuck with Windows for an OS. Personally I'd like to see, on their site, something like this...
Operating System (optional)
None (subtract $100)
Windows XP Home (included)
Windows XP Professional (add ungodly amount)
I'd love to have the box come to me empty. They don't even ship a system restore disk any more. I just ordered an inspiron laptop and inside the box I got a piece of cardboard that said "Your sytem doesn't need a Windows Operating System Disk".
Amen to that. I wiped the drive and slapped Mandriva2006 on that puppy right quickly.
You make it impossible to use without javascript where as Google is non-JS friendly
You make it without regard to US Section 508 / WAI standards (I guess you don't care if the Government uses it, you just hand over all your search records anyway). Not that this is really a #1 priority at google, but at least it's usable for non-JS users and is all text (html)
You offer an over-engineered design.
I don't see this taking off in the near future. Need many MANY improvements.
Is there a reason that the DoJ needs information from all of the search engines? At some point, can't we make a statistical comparison and say that since x% of results in AOL / MSN / Yahoo were for this subject, that google most likely is in the same area?
I mean are the users of google search that much different than AOL / MSN / Yahoo???
Does the DoJ need a complete analysis? If so, let's hand this over to the US Census bureau.
From what I can tell, this specifically bans analog -> digital converters. No where do I see mention of the opposite (digital->analog). So, in theory, I can still have my DVD player (digital) hooked up to my VCR (analog) to record all my movies, right? If so, I'm going to go and get to know my local VCR repair man right now. Something tells me I'll be needing his services very soon.
Oh, and I think I'm going to go out any buy a few VCR tapes while I'm at it. Those will be a hot commodity!
How can anyone call this progress? Forcing people into a media format (digital) may actually force people to go backwards!
Back in the good old days, I recall printing out the lyrics to "It's the end of the world as we know it" by REM from gophernet. Ah, how times have changed. Seems like everyone and their brother were downloading lyrics back then. I suppose these companies should go after the U of Minn since they never cracked down on the practice (other than saying you were limited to printing 10 pages per hour from the computer labs).
Having made this same decision 3 months ago, I've been quite fortunate so far, but I attribute this to a few things.
First - I didn't just jump ship, I'd been moonlighting for about a year before hand. This gave me a lot of experience in managing projects and relationships and learning some warning signs for bad clients. Yes, there are people that you don't want to work with. Moonlighting also helped be establish a client and referral base, which I'm sure most consultants will agree is the key to success.
Second - I planned ahead. Save up 3 - 6 months of living expenses if you can. The worst thing to happen when you're a consultant is to take a job because you need the money and not because you want the project. What you bid on and work on should be something you like to do. One thing to keep in mind is just because you make $15,000 one month, doesn't mean you're going to make $180,000 a year. I try to pay myself about 50% of revenue for a month. The rest goes to taxes and business expenses and building up a solid base to get me through the down times (which I plan on seeing sometime - but haven't yet - knock on wood). It also saves on SS / Medicare taxes, which you'll be forced to pay double now.
Third - Get benefits rolling BEFORE you quit. Typical health insurance applications can take 3+ months from application to coverage, longer if you have health problems in your family. You can always go for COBRA from your former employer, but that's usually very expensive. A better option, in many cases, is a high-deductable HSA plan.
Forth - Get organized. I've used Billing Orchard for my invoicing system and I highly recommend them. Whether you want to use a service like that, or create / manage your own through quickbooks or what ever, the key is to keep on top on client account management.
Finally - My approach to consulting has not been to go after the 90 day / 6 month full time contracts, but rather string together several 10 - 20 hour / week contracts. Is this the best route? Maybe, maybe not, but from my point of view, if one client drops me for whatever reason, at least I didn't lose 100% of my revenue stream. Whereas with a 90 day / 6 month contract, I think I'd feel more like I'm applying for a new job every few months.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents and that along with a buck twenty five might get you a cup of coffee.;)
"Breaking into computers in order to spy on people is not a violation of the DMCA; it's a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (as it says right in the article)."
Ah, but if they downloaded a word file, with ANY type of writing, or a jpeg / gif file that she created - and therefore owns the copyright, then yes it is a DMCA violation.
While I applaude the use of label tags, for WAI / 508 compliance, it would better serve to properly associate the labels with the buttons using the for attribute in the label tag and the id attribut in the input tag.
All I can say is from my experience, most stores do not have a liberal exchange policy when it comes to digital media.
If you have a broken physical product, such as a DVD player or VCR player, they are usually very willing to work with you. However, once you crack the seal on a DVD or CD, getting a replacement when it goes back is nearly impossible.
Once, I bought a CD where the center hole was bored (drilled) offcetner by a noticable amount. You couldn't even get it to go IN a CD player, let alone play. I went back to the store (with a receipt) to exchange it. Not return - exchange. They looked at the CD, and said it was my player. So I demanded that they prove it and play it on ANY device in their store. Only after testing 5 differnt CD players did they give in a let me get another copy.
I've run into similar situations with other digital products (CDs and DVDs).
The laws need to address this. If they're going to go after "individual" corruption, they need to go after "corporate" corruption as well.
Slashdot Mirror
I suppose this is like a bank robber who robs a bank, then promptly asks to deposit their newfound loot into their account at the same bank.
I've always wondered, but never had the time nor determiniation to find out, whether weather forecasts are more or less accurate than coin tosses and dice. I've always wanted to run an experiment similar to this :
;)
Take the 5 day temp forecast from a national weather site (NWS/weather.com, etc) and write the high / lows on one row.
Then, flip a coin and roll a single die.
Start with yesterday's high and low.
If you toss "heads" then add the number rolled on the die to the high temp for that day. If you toss "tails" then subtract. Do this for high and low temps for each of the five days.
Repeat this routine for a while, logging actual temps, then, after a certain amount of time. Compare your "forecasts" to the NWS / weather.com forecasts.
I've always wondered which would be more accurate.
Maybe this guy would run that test!
I seem to recall about 5 years ago the RIAA lost a huge government case whereby the government insisted that CD prices (at the time averaging around $20 - $25) were out of line with actual cost. As I recall, the government won that case and CD prices fell to the current $13 - $18 range.
This seems to me a media ploy from the RIAA to "claim" that they have a just reason to raise the price of a CD back to the pre-lawsuit range.
Nevermind the fact that the production costs have plummeted.
Based on my rough calculations (rough = not really doing any research, just making a point), and using the same logic as the RIAA, microwaves should be retailing for about $4000, radios for well over $50,000 and a car should be in the millions.
The ability to deliver wireless electricity has been known decades. The big problem has been how to determine who uses what. I believe Tesla proposed a huge power generator that could be used to power all the electricity needs of a city wirelessly. His idea was, of course, shot down because no one knew who to charge for what.
Maybe so, but who goes to google to search for google?
I, for one, think that it's about time to move on from the Shatner / Nimoy combo. After all, the only end result of sticking with those two for playing Kirk and Spock is a movie about geriatrics (sp?).
I think www.newvoyages.com is probably where paramount should look for guidance. They've cast all new (and pretty much unknown) actors for the roles. Take a look at the episodes, the story lines, IMO, are on par with the original series. Sure the acting and special effects are a little shotty, but overall, that's the best ST story lines I've seen since TNG.
Bottom line: If Star Trek wants to continue with the Kirk / Spock story lines, we need to realize that they're characters, and not the actors, that we like.
"The UN is so corrupt, incompetent, and inept that it make the U. S. Govt look brilliant!"
That's because of the fundamental design flaw in it's structure. I'm a firm believer that if we were to drop the 5 "permanent" members of the UN Security Council, and stop allowing one of those members to hold hostage any meaningfull dialog, it would solve alot of the problems at the UN.
Don't you know the US government? Everythings going to be "innocent" until proven guilty.
not sure what people are thinking, but everyone is already required to at least pay Federal income tax (in the US)...
... on all winnings. Of course you can offset your "winnings" with your "losses". And I know that we all have little notepads to write down exactly what we won and lost on each hand of Texas Hold'em and blackjack, right?
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc419.html
I do know that the casinos where I live will take out federal and state tax on a winning jackpot (because it's a documented win) but obviously have no way to really figure out how much you lost on the quarter machine to get that. So I can't imagine it being too difficult to claim that you lost more than you one in any given year. After all, the house ALWAYS has an advantage!
So let me get this straight. Microsoft Windows, already running (by default) background processes that hackers contantly exploit, comes up with an idea to add another automatic process to "increase" security?
And to top it off, Windows users have to PAY for that?
Isn't that like having a bank having to pay to have their security system installed by the mafia?
Although I certainly regard this as good news in general for small businesses, it does bring up a concern.
Recently there seems to have been a rise in "patent trolling", I hope that this ruling does not cause "patent exploitation". I worry that, big business being what it is today, will use this as an excuse to further exploit other's patents without recourse.
If someone has a legitimate invention that they patented, they should be able to stop others from unlawfully using their work.
Not trying to disagree with the ruling, just saying that there are two sides to this coin.
Come on. Maybe I'm a little old fashioned (I am over 20) but I would certainly consider having google make a rendition of my work to (assumedly) celebrate my birthday (or other event) an honor. But I guess if your an "artist" going for the "I'm poor, struggling and not recognized for my talent" approach, this could be devestating to your "morals".
If google really wanted to get all pissy about this, they should just laugh and say "ha ha" it's a parody on your art work and therefore protected! Ha ha you're a funny artist!
'...geez, get a decent computer where you can actually read the text and you're not sitting there cranking the thing while you're trying to type,' Gates said.'
You forgot to add "from his Windows CE powered PDA IM message"
I've said it before, but I can't understand why the government needs this data when they already have search results from MSN, Yahoo, and AOL. One would think that statistical analysis should be able to give enough information to make or break their case already. What are they looking for from a MOE perspective?
I'm just not sure what they need this data for. Are the google search results that much different than MSN or "live.com"???
Very true. The community should listen to what people like Dell are saying. BUT, people like Dell need to realize that the open source movement is heavily grounded in Free (as in freedom) stuff. Converging on one platform / code base / whatever takes that away.
I want the freedom to choose what OS I run on my system, and I'm willing to accept "some" hardware incompatibility issues for that freedom.
I just wish Dell would offer an OS as an "option" not a "requirement".
They have thousands of drop downs when you order for just about anything you could want on your system, but you're almost always stuck with Windows for an OS. Personally I'd like to see, on their site, something like this...
Operating System (optional)
None (subtract $100)
Windows XP Home (included)
Windows XP Professional (add ungodly amount)
I'd love to have the box come to me empty. They don't even ship a system restore disk any more. I just ordered an inspiron laptop and inside the box I got a piece of cardboard that said "Your sytem doesn't need a Windows Operating System Disk".
Amen to that. I wiped the drive and slapped Mandriva2006 on that puppy right quickly.
Ok, so this may be a rant / flame, but come on M$. Did you even try here?
w .live.com%2F :eek:
w .google.com%2F&charset=(detect+automatically)&doct ype=Inline
You claim your page is XHTML1.0 Strict, but can't even get it to validate:
http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fww
250+ HTML errors on 100 lines of code? Is the OS the same way???
Google on the other hand doesn't try to be anything. Just the simple little "search engine that could".
http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fww
(50 Errors)
You make it impossible to use without javascript where as Google is non-JS friendly
You make it without regard to US Section 508 / WAI standards (I guess you don't care if the Government uses it, you just hand over all your search records anyway). Not that this is really a #1 priority at google, but at least it's usable for non-JS users and is all text (html)
You offer an over-engineered design.
I don't see this taking off in the near future. Need many MANY improvements.
Is there a reason that the DoJ needs information from all of the search engines? At some point, can't we make a statistical comparison and say that since x% of results in AOL / MSN / Yahoo were for this subject, that google most likely is in the same area?
I mean are the users of google search that much different than AOL / MSN / Yahoo???
Does the DoJ need a complete analysis? If so, let's hand this over to the US Census bureau.
From what I can tell, this specifically bans analog -> digital converters. No where do I see mention of the opposite (digital->analog). So, in theory, I can still have my DVD player (digital) hooked up to my VCR (analog) to record all my movies, right? If so, I'm going to go and get to know my local VCR repair man right now. Something tells me I'll be needing his services very soon.
Oh, and I think I'm going to go out any buy a few VCR tapes while I'm at it. Those will be a hot commodity!
How can anyone call this progress? Forcing people into a media format (digital) may actually force people to go backwards!
Back in the good old days, I recall printing out the lyrics to "It's the end of the world as we know it" by REM from gophernet. Ah, how times have changed. Seems like everyone and their brother were downloading lyrics back then. I suppose these companies should go after the U of Minn since they never cracked down on the practice (other than saying you were limited to printing 10 pages per hour from the computer labs).
You mean you want BOTH /. readers to talk to their wife?
You're right! In fact, if anything I'd say Microsoft has been infringing for years with their idiotic .ini files!
Seriously, those lack structure AND heirarchy!
Having made this same decision 3 months ago, I've been quite fortunate so far, but I attribute this to a few things.
;)
First - I didn't just jump ship, I'd been moonlighting for about a year before hand. This gave me a lot of experience in managing projects and relationships and learning some warning signs for bad clients. Yes, there are people that you don't want to work with. Moonlighting also helped be establish a client and referral base, which I'm sure most consultants will agree is the key to success.
Second - I planned ahead. Save up 3 - 6 months of living expenses if you can. The worst thing to happen when you're a consultant is to take a job because you need the money and not because you want the project. What you bid on and work on should be something you like to do. One thing to keep in mind is just because you make $15,000 one month, doesn't mean you're going to make $180,000 a year. I try to pay myself about 50% of revenue for a month. The rest goes to taxes and business expenses and building up a solid base to get me through the down times (which I plan on seeing sometime - but haven't yet - knock on wood). It also saves on SS / Medicare taxes, which you'll be forced to pay double now.
Third - Get benefits rolling BEFORE you quit. Typical health insurance applications can take 3+ months from application to coverage, longer if you have health problems in your family. You can always go for COBRA from your former employer, but that's usually very expensive. A better option, in many cases, is a high-deductable HSA plan.
Forth - Get organized. I've used Billing Orchard for my invoicing system and I highly recommend them. Whether you want to use a service like that, or create / manage your own through quickbooks or what ever, the key is to keep on top on client account management.
Finally - My approach to consulting has not been to go after the 90 day / 6 month full time contracts, but rather string together several 10 - 20 hour / week contracts. Is this the best route? Maybe, maybe not, but from my point of view, if one client drops me for whatever reason, at least I didn't lose 100% of my revenue stream. Whereas with a 90 day / 6 month contract, I think I'd feel more like I'm applying for a new job every few months.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents and that along with a buck twenty five might get you a cup of coffee.
"Breaking into computers in order to spy on people is not a violation of the DMCA; it's a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (as it says right in the article)."
Ah, but if they downloaded a word file, with ANY type of writing, or a jpeg / gif file that she created - and therefore owns the copyright, then yes it is a DMCA violation.
Hmmmmm.
Looking at the code I see this:...
/>
;)
<label>
Nickname
</label>
<input type="text" name="unickname" size="20" value="">
While I applaude the use of label tags, for WAI / 508 compliance, it would better serve to properly associate the labels with the buttons using the for attribute in the label tag and the id attribut in the input tag.
Example:
<label for="form_nickname">
Nickname
</label>
<input type="text" id="form_nickname" name="unickname" size="20" value=""
But that's just a nit pick. Oh, and close the input tags as well
All I can say is from my experience, most stores do not have a liberal exchange policy when it comes to digital media. If you have a broken physical product, such as a DVD player or VCR player, they are usually very willing to work with you. However, once you crack the seal on a DVD or CD, getting a replacement when it goes back is nearly impossible. Once, I bought a CD where the center hole was bored (drilled) offcetner by a noticable amount. You couldn't even get it to go IN a CD player, let alone play. I went back to the store (with a receipt) to exchange it. Not return - exchange. They looked at the CD, and said it was my player. So I demanded that they prove it and play it on ANY device in their store. Only after testing 5 differnt CD players did they give in a let me get another copy. I've run into similar situations with other digital products (CDs and DVDs). The laws need to address this. If they're going to go after "individual" corruption, they need to go after "corporate" corruption as well.