Why are we supposed to buy this again instead of getting something made of paper?
It is so unattractive that I am actually hoping for them to keep it that way. It would be terrible if they made those borrowed copies much cheaper than a real book and at some point stopped printing books due to low demand. I might have to buy one of those book printing machines in the end.;-)
How long does its battery last? How much noise does it make? Seriously, why do people compare the iPad with a clunky 17" laptop when it's aimed at a totally different audience and area of application? FWIW, 17" laptops suck compared to desktops. Yeah, you can lug it around at the cost of a decent screen, keyboard, noise level, performance, expandability and sturdiness... Also, I haven't seen one netbook keyboard that isn't terrible (I like my Dell Mini 9 because it's fanless, but I can't really type on it...).
Myers does not raise any objections to code or data "quantity" -- the big hurdle is that vital part of the system is outside the DNA, and we are only beginning to explore it. Read up on epigenetics.
As I understand the article, he does - he ridicules the claimed amount of code required and compares it to what would be considered data ("history of 100 billion cells"). What is outside the DNA does not invalidate Kurzweil's claim, as it's simply "input", even though it affects the brain permanently. You might need 1 million lines of code (wild guess surely) and 1PB of data to simulate a brain, who can tell until we do it... But PZ Meyers has a very weak standpoint for the language he uses.
The human brain appears to function under a set of laws and rules different than the set that Kurzweil assumes it does.
Since we apparently don't know those laws, we cannot make such a statement. What Kurzweil asserts is, that the amount of "code" required to perform the same functionality as the brain, can be estimated from the complexity of the system that controls the development and basic functionality of the brain, but in the context of its enironment. At a chemical/physical level it might seem very complex, but so does a computer, depending on what level of its design you look at. Still, you can describe the logic functionality of a computer program without paying attention to what happens to single electrons and that is what PZ Meyers ignores or fails to understand.
Kurzweil seems to understand the basics of Algorithmic Information Theory, whether by intuition or study, I can't tell. What I can tell is that PZ Myers has problems comprehending the interaction of code and data (hint: the history of billions of cells is data) and the fact that seen from outside the field of highly specialized machines for processing of digital information, 8 bytes of code can seem to do an extremely complex piece of work to their environment, just like small proteins observed from outside their "working environment". When we model the brain successfully, we will probably not do it by simulating proteins and their environment, we will simply simulate the input/output, i.e. on a higher level than what gets PZ, who wants to plug proteins into computers, so aroused.
To simplify it so a computer science ignorant biologist with a tendency to inane rants can possibly get it, you don't need to simulate electrons in a semi-conductive material at specific temperatures in order to build a complete working emulator for an old computer.
... do we implement checks whether the login details the user just entered work on gmail, Facebook, myspace, Skype, ICQ and warn the user accordingly?;-)
Some trivia: on a site with domain XXXXXX.at roughly 0.5% of the registered users use XXXXXX as password (censored).
...Seriously, folks, they're just automating the updates that everyone installs already. It saves us time, which last time I checked was a valuable commodity.
Mozilla is not immune to a) faulty updates, b) hacked/hijacked servers, c) intervention on behalf of government agencies. Being able to deny an update adds another layer of security to users' computers because they might be informed of such issues before Mozilla fixes them. Also, not all users are stupid. If there is no option to deny an update, well, there are still some alternatives out there...
How does that technique solve the problem where a feature exists but is implemented differently?
From the bug reports I gather that in this specific case, the problematic checks were a workaround for other JVMs that did not implement a specific option ("-XX:MaxPermSize=256m") and did not start at all when it was used. Looks like a poor workaround to me, when we've been using installation time checks as a de facto standard for such things (i.e. GNU Autoconf) for more than a decade to avoid such issues. Eclipse could simply have tried to start the JVM with said option at installation time and if that failed, disabled the option.
Anyone would become a "media whore" in a situation where being one could make the difference between staying alive or getting shot in a dark alley with noone caring about it...
Ask anyone (esp. poor people) whether they think they're kinder, more generous than rich people. Then ask them how much they donated to charity in the last year, even as a percentage of their disposable income...
... will be using the symbol ¥ from now on. After 7 years or so, we'll switch back to calling it "Internet" because, quite frankly, using a symbol is a bit silly.
I'd be happier if we hadn't had a moving target to work with for the past 15 years, with new W3C specifications becoming the vogue while major browsers still failed to implement older ones correctly. Also HTML5 is more "different" than "groundbreaking", which will just lead to more incompatibilities in browsers without a big benefit.
How's the W3C reference implementation coming along by the way?:-P
You're delusional and should go read your network agreement policy again.
Seems to me like you're the one who is delusional. People can comply with whatever the censorship policy of the local gestapo university is and still use SSL to protect their privacy. But perhaps this will lead to some investigation regarding the use of snooped student/employee data, doesn't sound too legal to me...
This isn't new people, it's the way shit works now.
That's what some people would like us to swallow, but it convinces only the dumbest of us. It ain't the way shit works unless you let it happen, sheeple.:-/
... how many people seem to think it's fine to snoop people's data and implement various kinds of censorship under the pretext of blocking porn (also, there's no porn produced or consumed in the US or UK, honest!).
What "precedence" did WoW set for MMO's except make getting to max level easy, and raid content an almost given win even if a few people couldn't play their way out of a tin can?
Moddable UI? But their main feat was certainly not originality, it was probably getting all those small design decisions right and making the game hugely addictive...
, I really don't see how it's going to violate our freedoms.
Lots of blind fools around... The point you are missing is that it is simply scaremongering, their presence is forcing you to think about your appearance, whether your actions are suspicious in any way and they are also putting you in a state of permanent fear of terrorism. If you can't see how this is violating your freedom, you are already a sheep.
If they don't mind spending a year in jail or so, perhaps. If they do, they'll have to consider the possibility (the original TPB owners got a 1 year sentence, who knows where hosting them gets you...).
I don't know how trustworthy the swedish legal system is, but here in Austria, most judges are political puppets who would be pressurized into sinking the PP together with TPB simply because it's politically opportune and because they can (a good example is the current trial against legal animal rights activism where anyone can see how unfair such a political trial can be: tierschutzprozess.at). It's a glorious move on behalf of the PP for sure, but it'll be an uphill battle and the heroes only win reliably in movies.
Slashdot Mirror
Why are we supposed to buy this again instead of getting something made of paper?
It is so unattractive that I am actually hoping for them to keep it that way. It would be terrible if they made those borrowed copies much cheaper than a real book and at some point stopped printing books due to low demand. I might have to buy one of those book printing machines in the end. ;-)
I just cannot see what keeps the propeller turning once the cart hits windspeed, as at that point the apparent wind would be 0.
The wheels keep the propeller turning, as they are connected to it.
Their panels are usually crap too (low-end consumer stuff). Buy a decent 24" display with 1920x1200 and IPS panel and you'll be fine ...
My laptop delivers a much better experience.
How long does its battery last? How much noise does it make? Seriously, why do people compare the iPad with a clunky 17" laptop when it's aimed at a totally different audience and area of application? FWIW, 17" laptops suck compared to desktops. Yeah, you can lug it around at the cost of a decent screen, keyboard, noise level, performance, expandability and sturdiness... Also, I haven't seen one netbook keyboard that isn't terrible (I like my Dell Mini 9 because it's fanless, but I can't really type on it...).
Myers does not raise any objections to code or data "quantity" -- the big hurdle is that vital part of the system is outside the DNA, and we are only beginning to explore it. Read up on epigenetics.
As I understand the article, he does - he ridicules the claimed amount of code required and compares it to what would be considered data ("history of 100 billion cells"). What is outside the DNA does not invalidate Kurzweil's claim, as it's simply "input", even though it affects the brain permanently. You might need 1 million lines of code (wild guess surely) and 1PB of data to simulate a brain, who can tell until we do it... But PZ Meyers has a very weak standpoint for the language he uses.
The human brain appears to function under a set of laws and rules different than the set that Kurzweil assumes it does.
Since we apparently don't know those laws, we cannot make such a statement. What Kurzweil asserts is, that the amount of "code" required to perform the same functionality as the brain, can be estimated from the complexity of the system that controls the development and basic functionality of the brain, but in the context of its enironment. At a chemical/physical level it might seem very complex, but so does a computer, depending on what level of its design you look at. Still, you can describe the logic functionality of a computer program without paying attention to what happens to single electrons and that is what PZ Meyers ignores or fails to understand.
To simplify it so a computer science ignorant biologist with a tendency to inane rants can possibly get it, you don't need to simulate electrons in a semi-conductive material at specific temperatures in order to build a complete working emulator for an old computer.
Some trivia: on a site with domain XXXXXX.at roughly 0.5% of the registered users use XXXXXX as password (censored).
...Seriously, folks, they're just automating the updates that everyone installs already. It saves us time, which last time I checked was a valuable commodity.
Mozilla is not immune to a) faulty updates, b) hacked/hijacked servers, c) intervention on behalf of government agencies. Being able to deny an update adds another layer of security to users' computers because they might be informed of such issues before Mozilla fixes them. Also, not all users are stupid. If there is no option to deny an update, well, there are still some alternatives out there...
... silent updates suck.
and Google will have no part in it at all, surely... Esp. after they put money in Recorded Future together with the CIA.
How does that technique solve the problem where a feature exists but is implemented differently?
From the bug reports I gather that in this specific case, the problematic checks were a workaround for other JVMs that did not implement a specific option ("-XX:MaxPermSize=256m") and did not start at all when it was used. Looks like a poor workaround to me, when we've been using installation time checks as a de facto standard for such things (i.e. GNU Autoconf) for more than a decade to avoid such issues. Eclipse could simply have tried to start the JVM with said option at installation time and if that failed, disabled the option.
he's a media whore with shady beginnings
Anyone would become a "media whore" in a situation where being one could make the difference between staying alive or getting shot in a dark alley with noone caring about it...
Ask anyone (esp. poor people) whether they think they're kinder, more generous than rich people. Then ask them how much they donated to charity in the last year, even as a percentage of their disposable income...
a place where cops are practically untouchable,
Seriously, please name a place where this isn't the case, I'm very interested ... The closer you look, the harder it is to find one.
... will be using the symbol ¥ from now on. After 7 years or so, we'll switch back to calling it "Internet" because, quite frankly, using a symbol is a bit silly.
I'd be happier if we hadn't had a moving target to work with for the past 15 years, with new W3C specifications becoming the vogue while major browsers still failed to implement older ones correctly. Also HTML5 is more "different" than "groundbreaking", which will just lead to more incompatibilities in browsers without a big benefit. :-P
How's the W3C reference implementation coming along by the way?
You're delusional and should go read your network agreement policy again.
Seems to me like you're the one who is delusional. People can comply with whatever the censorship policy of the local gestapo university is and still use SSL to protect their privacy. But perhaps this will lead to some investigation regarding the use of snooped student/employee data, doesn't sound too legal to me ...
This isn't new people, it's the way shit works now.
That's what some people would like us to swallow, but it convinces only the dumbest of us. It ain't the way shit works unless you let it happen, sheeple. :-/
... how many people seem to think it's fine to snoop people's data and implement various kinds of censorship under the pretext of blocking porn (also, there's no porn produced or consumed in the US or UK, honest!).
What "precedence" did WoW set for MMO's except make getting to max level easy, and raid content an almost given win even if a few people couldn't play their way out of a tin can?
Moddable UI? But their main feat was certainly not originality, it was probably getting all those small design decisions right and making the game hugely addictive...
I take it after the great war he'll build us guns to kill the mutants with and ensure the survival of the human race!
MMOs do not need that much data, and yes really dialup speeds do work. Did you never play everquest?
Vendetta Online is a "twitch" MMO, so latency will hurt.
, I really don't see how it's going to violate our freedoms.
Lots of blind fools around ... The point you are missing is that it is simply scaremongering, their presence is forcing you to think about your appearance, whether your actions are suspicious in any way and they are also putting you in a state of permanent fear of terrorism. If you can't see how this is violating your freedom, you are already a sheep.
Since that is no reason not to at least try it.
If they don't mind spending a year in jail or so, perhaps. If they do, they'll have to consider the possibility (the original TPB owners got a 1 year sentence, who knows where hosting them gets you...).
I don't know how trustworthy the swedish legal system is, but here in Austria, most judges are political puppets who would be pressurized into sinking the PP together with TPB simply because it's politically opportune and because they can (a good example is the current trial against legal animal rights activism where anyone can see how unfair such a political trial can be: tierschutzprozess.at). It's a glorious move on behalf of the PP for sure, but it'll be an uphill battle and the heroes only win reliably in movies.
But hey, if you don't fight, you can't win...