"Whatever you learn in school will be mostly useless in the workplace, and what you learn in the workplace will likely be useless within 5 years"
Well, my friend, you aim too low. Math is never useless or obsolete, nor are algorithms, data structures etc. Technology is irrelevant and is learned "by the way" if you get all of the above. Feel kind of sorry for the job you might have..
I went for CS degree when I was 33 years old. My salary didn't go up (our local laws of small market), but I've met new challenges, changed my profile a bit, got to know interesting people etc. I could easily be at the top of my class (I guess experience with fields) and I got straight A's (actually we have different scoring system in Europe). Backed of course with 15 years of experience working in the field. Starting with CS at 30 is a completely different game, though.
Uhh, I must correct myself - the 20/20 acuity means that we see pixels separated by 1 second of arc (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_acuity so the 6000 pixels in 100 degrees is correct!
According to the linked text, the "average" person can see 2 pixels at about 2 minutes of arc, and has a field of view of 100 degrees. There are 30 sets of 2 minutes of arc in one degree, and one hundred of those in the field of view, so we get: 2 * 30 * 100, or about 6000 pixel acuity overall. Well, not exactly - divide that by half. You can separate two pixels when they are separated by at least 2 minutes of arc. That means *one* pixel every 2 minutes of arc, or 30 pixels/degree. That means 3000 pixels over 100 degrees.
But apparent size display of 100 degrees - thats huge. Additionally, it would have to be curved (like IMAX) to avoid image distortion. Plus, you have to move your eyes around the screen because your acuity of 2minutes of arc is only achievable in a narrow field (a couple degrees) off axis.
It has been years since the EU ordered the different music licensing cartels across Europe to offer a single, pan-european license and those record company groups have ignored them. Now they're demanding Apple charge the same amount in different countries, when Apple pays a different amount in different countries, because the EU has done nothing about their previous edict. It is idiocy. I agree this is complicated. An since the EU is not an exemplarily synchronized institute, we now have such cases instead of EU constitution. Well, at least this is better than just yielding to corporate pressure.. nope, that is the American way. Uncoordinated it is, but it's better than giving in.
From the above Wikipedia link
Corporate personhood is a term used to describe the legal fiction used within United States law that a corporation, under the concept of legal entity, has a limited subset of the same constitutional rights as a human being
Here in the EU, there is a very clear distinction between a person and a company.
How would user-feedback make the system more unstable? Do you think that some users would set up their processes to INCREASE consumption when the price RISES? Ah, but think about the old question of building more roads - does it help lower traffic jams or does it increase them because people simply travel more?
I believe varying rates could cause side effects such as:
-Increased consumption (additional use of energy when it is cheap without lowering consumption when it is expensive because of inappropriate buffering - air conditioning of poorly isolated homes would simply draw more energy when cheap, and not really contributing much to temperature in 6 hours)
-Innefective buffering - trying to use energy fluctuations with inappropriate devices
-Problems because of feedback loops (lowering rates triggers increase in consumption which in turn raises the rates which in turn..)
The planned approach, on the othe hand, amounts to a real and calculable decrease in energy consumption; none of the mentioned problems apply.
From TFA:
and there isn't even a Foreign genre choice for "Buy" or "Burn to DVD" WTF? Can you really stuff Bollywood romances, dr. Who, HonKong Kung-Fu, Al Modovar and Monty Python's Flying circus into a 'Foreign' genre?
..the false dichotomy.. Seeker of the Truth and Dom Perignon do not go along well. The typical dichotomy being the Professor and the Manager. While there are deviations, the case is a clear cut as any.
My point was that the free software community is best served by sticking to the truth. I can't see how our relationship to Microsoft alters this in any way.
I don't argue against sticking to the truth; I merely want to point out that "better" is sometimes a self-delusion when measured subjectively or with moral standards. One sticks to the truth because one has chosen to. It does not make him better, only "better".
Free Software does not have to compete with MS, but MS is forced into competing with Free Software.
Define "better": Used in this case in the sense of moral and ethical superiority. Anyone can define better so as to be on top by it's definition. Its just not how it works in business.
Given how precise you are about definitions, it's interesting that you're casting these as polar activities - as if no Linux user ever opened a bottle of Champers. It's not like no Microsoft shill was ever found astroturfing on Slashdot for that matter. B&W imagery serves a purpose of exaggerating differences, and symbolising them. Moral and ethical rules, whichever variant you mean, in this context, are a means of achieving a goal. Philosophically, you can go about experimenting with them, but in business, you are just using them.
More to the point, I think that's a popular misconception. Microsoft started this game in a position of overwhelming dominance Depends what you mean by 'started'. When MS 'started', it was a small witty co. against the Big Blue, remember?
The fact the Microsoft remains wealthy doesn't mean Microsoft are winning - they're just taking a long time to lose. MS is not a person, and you cannot say it's wealthy. It might so happen, that when MS lays off 10.000 programmers because of losing the battle against Free Software, those 10.000 will either join in the Free Software business, or open a competitive business, or learn some other profession. As long as you dwell in market economy, you play by it's rules.
Free Sofware, free as in beer, is like beer: even when free, somebody has to open the cask, fill the glasses, and clean up in the morning.
Oh, and if Free Software is not a business, then it also doesn't compete with MS, and all this is not relevant, right?
.. because we're better than they are
Define "better":
"Better" is a linear total order relation.
And there are plenty of such.
Under certain rules of game, by natural selection, you get a natural "better" order.
Philosophically, under idealist rules, we are "better" than they are because we "don't lie".
Under real-world rules, though, we suck. Heavily. That's why we chatter on Slashdot, and they
drink Dom Perignon.
In the article, author admits 11W additional power consumption for running SETI@Home. Wikipedia says there are 1.2 million active users, meaning 11W*1.200.000 = 14MW of ADDITIONAL power consumption for SETI@Home.
Take into account that many people leave computers on JUST for SETI, and you could go up to 170MW (based on article power consumption). The real number is somewhere in between.
Now, multiply that by 30*24h, and you get 9.5GWh/120GWh respectively.
That is almost 1M$/12M$ PER MONTH. Huh?
I hope the little green men will show themselves fast.
Why would you want to rip a HD film and compress it into a kind of regular DVD, when you can just rent a DVD for 2$ or less, is beyond me. You'd get a poorer (than DVD) picture because of recompression and resampling, and pay 8$ for the DL blank alone.
They aren't just going to stop selling DVD's anytime soon, and a good DVD is as good as it gets on 720x576 pixels. No MP4 compressed material (700M or even 1.4G) comes close to originally compressed MP2 on a DVD.
The friggin' point of HD format is to enjoy it on a 100" DLP projected full HD projector.. not on a computer monitor downscaled to 1080p or even 720p.
Now, an international team of experimentalists has detected four of those atoms... The team includes 24 scientists from 10 research institutions..
Back when I was in high school, we'd have to share PC computers at 'computer science' classes, but 1 atom per six researchers.. er, couldn't we increase funding, or something?
Uh, for this, you do not need google, but geometry.
If you extend a line from the centre of the Earth C, r=6500km through the baloon B at h=38km,
and another line from the centre to the point A, from where it is theoretically still possible to see the baloon,
the line BA is tangential to Earth, therefore ABC is a right angle triangle.
Pythagoras gives sqr(|AC|)+sqr(|AB|)=sqr(|BC|), since |AC|=r, |BC|=r+h, and our distance x=|AB|, we have
x=sqrt( (r+h)*(r+h) - r*r)=sqrt( 2*h*r+h*h)
which because r>>h is approx. sqrt(2*h*r)=sqrt(6500*38*2)=703
So, its about 700 kilometers, not very far from Antarctic continent. I't not visible from Australia or NZ.
Ach, so I will finally be able to look up this lovely Russian girl I've met online.
She's been sending me pictures of herself (chuckles) and her name is Sonya..
She's SO sexy she's got me worried, but my worries will finally go away as soon as I check her photo with this new service!!!
My refrigerator is only active approximately 20% of the time, meaning that on average it consumes only about 20% of its rated power. Average power successfuly calculated! (20% * nominal power)
The power used by my dishwasher varies dramatically over the course of a cycle; it's usually less than 100W, despite the device being rated at 800W
Those ratings don't tell you how much the appliance uses, though, only how efficient it is compared to other devices in the same class. Well, agree, energy classes tell you the efficiency (consumption per volume for refrigerators), but next to the class, in a little smaller font, they also state absolute average consumption in kWh of energy, per year for refrigerators, per wash for dishwashers, etc. As an aside note, it is sad that they exaggerate the class, so people tend to buy large fridges with a clear conscience because they are A class. Forgetting that the smaller fridge, although it may be B class, can very well use less energy.
You can also find consumption of water listed, in liters per wash (if more programmes are used, each is listed separately).
OTOH, I agree that power ratings on the safety labels are just peak, but even some can be succesfully used to calculate consumption.
For an oven, you will find a listing for power consumption for every heater separately.
I didn't mean to suggest you just sum up the power ratings of all of your devices.
Rather I wanted to point out that you can wery well estimate energy consumption of most appliances before you buy them from data written on the label. I don't know for other places exactly, but at least you can where I live.
If you project your intermediate vector bosons accurately, you'll obtain a tunnel through the mountain with solid floor just below the wheels, and a collapsing yet transparent core in front. Move fast enough, and banzai!, you tunnel through.
It is interesting to note that 'electron tunneling' is an actual term used in quantum physics.
Only make sure you don't use up your batteries too soon.
WTFLOLOMG11111!!!!!!!!??!!
Please, PLEASE don't tell me energy is wasted because.. some feel clotheslines aren't pretty!
I'm astonished! Where I live, this 'law' would be unthinkable.
I understand it is forbidden to make large open fire in some urban environments, safety and all, but this.. ??!!
Almost all appliances only put peak consumption on the label. Most appliances average substantially less. Some never even reach the peak,it being a theoretical maximum.
I agree, except for refrigerator, dishwasher, oven, washing machine, microwave oven, furnace (any heating device), vacuum cleaner, light bulb,...
Home appliances here (in EU) even get labelled and categorized in shops in classes by their power consumption (ABCD energy class), measured by standards, so it is very clear what you get before you buy.
This is not true, hovewer, as parent had noted, for some devices like amplifiers, that consumption varies and only peak power is what's on the label.
Slashdot Mirror
"Whatever you learn in school will be mostly useless in the workplace, and what you learn in the workplace will likely be useless within 5 years" Well, my friend, you aim too low. Math is never useless or obsolete, nor are algorithms, data structures etc. Technology is irrelevant and is learned "by the way" if you get all of the above. Feel kind of sorry for the job you might have..
I went for CS degree when I was 33 years old. My salary didn't go up (our local laws of small market), but I've met new challenges, changed my profile a bit, got to know interesting people etc. I could easily be at the top of my class (I guess experience with fields) and I got straight A's (actually we have different scoring system in Europe). Backed of course with 15 years of experience working in the field. Starting with CS at 30 is a completely different game, though.
Uhh, I must correct myself - the 20/20 acuity means that we see pixels separated by 1 second of arc (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_acuity so the 6000 pixels in 100 degrees is correct!
Hmm, maybe it's the other way around ..
maybe it's just the companies aren't used to play by the law.
Corporate personhood is a term used to describe the legal fiction used within United States law that a corporation, under the concept of legal entity, has a limited subset of the same constitutional rights as a human being
Here in the EU, there is a very clear distinction between a person and a company.
I believe varying rates could cause side effects such as:
-Increased consumption (additional use of energy when it is cheap without lowering consumption when it is expensive because of inappropriate buffering - air conditioning of poorly isolated homes would simply draw more energy when cheap, and not really contributing much to temperature in 6 hours)
-Innefective buffering - trying to use energy fluctuations with inappropriate devices
-Problems because of feedback loops (lowering rates triggers increase in consumption which in turn raises the rates which in turn..)
The planned approach, on the othe hand, amounts to a real and calculable decrease in energy consumption; none of the mentioned problems apply.
What's next, the 'Digital' genre??!!
..to clarify my position. OK.
..the false dichotomy.. Seeker of the Truth and Dom Perignon do not go along well. The typical dichotomy being the Professor and the Manager. While there are deviations, the case is a clear cut as any. My point was that the free software community is best served by sticking to the truth. I can't see how our relationship to Microsoft alters this in any way.I don't argue against sticking to the truth; I merely want to point out that "better" is sometimes a self-delusion when measured subjectively or with moral standards. One sticks to the truth because one has chosen to. It does not make him better, only "better".
Free Software does not have to compete with MS, but MS is forced into competing with Free Software.
More to the point, I think that's a popular misconception. Microsoft started this game in a position of overwhelming dominance Depends what you mean by 'started'. When MS 'started', it was a small witty co. against the Big Blue, remember?
The fact the Microsoft remains wealthy doesn't mean Microsoft are winning - they're just taking a long time to lose. MS is not a person, and you cannot say it's wealthy. It might so happen, that when MS lays off 10.000 programmers because of losing the battle against Free Software, those 10.000 will either join in the Free Software business, or open a competitive business, or learn some other profession. As long as you dwell in market economy, you play by it's rules.
Free Sofware, free as in beer, is like beer: even when free, somebody has to open the cask, fill the glasses, and clean up in the morning.
Oh, and if Free Software is not a business, then it also doesn't compete with MS, and all this is not relevant, right?
Good.
.. because we're better than they areDefine "better":
"Better" is a linear total order relation. And there are plenty of such.
Under certain rules of game, by natural selection, you get a natural "better" order.
Philosophically, under idealist rules, we are "better" than they are because we "don't lie".
Under real-world rules, though, we suck. Heavily. That's why we chatter on Slashdot, and they drink Dom Perignon.
In the article, author admits 11W additional power consumption for running SETI@Home.
Wikipedia says there are 1.2 million active users, meaning 11W*1.200.000 = 14MW of ADDITIONAL power consumption for SETI@Home. Take into account that many people leave computers on JUST for SETI, and you could go up to 170MW (based on article power consumption). The real number is somewhere in between.
Now, multiply that by 30*24h, and you get 9.5GWh/120GWh respectively. That is almost 1M$/12M$ PER MONTH. Huh?
I hope the little green men will show themselves fast.
Why would you want to rip a HD film and compress it into a kind of regular DVD, when you can just rent a DVD for 2$ or less, is beyond me. You'd get a poorer (than DVD) picture because of recompression and resampling, and pay 8$ for the DL blank alone.
They aren't just going to stop selling DVD's anytime soon, and a good DVD is as good as it gets on 720x576 pixels. No MP4 compressed material (700M or even 1.4G) comes close to originally compressed MP2 on a DVD.
The friggin' point of HD format is to enjoy it on a 100" DLP projected full HD projector.. not on a computer monitor downscaled to 1080p or even 720p.
Back when I was in high school, we'd have to share PC computers at 'computer science' classes, but 1 atom per six researchers.. er, couldn't we increase funding, or something?
Uh, for this, you do not need google, but geometry.
If you extend a line from the centre of the Earth C, r=6500km through the baloon B at h=38km, and another line from the centre to the point A, from where it is theoretically still possible to see the baloon, the line BA is tangential to Earth, therefore ABC is a right angle triangle.
Pythagoras gives sqr(|AC|)+sqr(|AB|)=sqr(|BC|), since |AC|=r, |BC|=r+h, and our distance x=|AB|, we have
x=sqrt( (r+h)*(r+h) - r*r)=sqrt( 2*h*r+h*h)
which because r>>h is approx. sqrt(2*h*r)=sqrt(6500*38*2)=703
So, its about 700 kilometers, not very far from Antarctic continent. I't not visible from Australia or NZ.
Wait..
Where did YOU get her photo!?
Ach, so I will finally be able to look up this lovely Russian girl I've met online.
She's been sending me pictures of herself (chuckles) and her name is Sonya..
She's SO sexy she's got me worried, but my worries will finally go away as soon as I check her photo with this new service!!!
I only read the article because I thought It had something to do with European Space Agency...
Hmm, this reminds me of something, I just can't put my finger on it... (scratches his head)
Here's a good read on this topic http://www.terrapass.com/terrablog/posts/000453.ht ml/
As an aside note, it is sad that they exaggerate the class, so people tend to buy large fridges with a clear conscience because they are A class. Forgetting that the smaller fridge, although it may be B class, can very well use less energy.
You can also find consumption of water listed, in liters per wash (if more programmes are used, each is listed separately).
OTOH, I agree that power ratings on the safety labels are just peak, but even some can be succesfully used to calculate consumption.
For an oven, you will find a listing for power consumption for every heater separately.
I didn't mean to suggest you just sum up the power ratings of all of your devices.
Rather I wanted to point out that you can wery well estimate energy consumption of most appliances before you buy them from data written on the label. I don't know for other places exactly, but at least you can where I live.
If you project your intermediate vector bosons accurately, you'll obtain a tunnel through the mountain with solid floor just below the wheels, and a collapsing yet transparent core in front.
Move fast enough, and banzai!, you tunnel through.
It is interesting to note that 'electron tunneling' is an actual term used in quantum physics.
Only make sure you don't use up your batteries too soon.
WTFLOLOMG11111!!!!!!!!??!! .. some feel clotheslines aren't pretty!
Please, PLEASE don't tell me energy is wasted because
I'm astonished! Where I live, this 'law' would be unthinkable.
I understand it is forbidden to make large open fire in some urban environments, safety and all, but this.. ??!!
I agree, except for refrigerator, dishwasher, oven, washing machine, microwave oven, furnace (any heating device), vacuum cleaner, light bulb,
Home appliances here (in EU) even get labelled and categorized in shops in classes by their power consumption (ABCD energy class), measured by standards, so it is very clear what you get before you buy.
This is not true, hovewer, as parent had noted, for some devices like amplifiers, that consumption varies and only peak power is what's on the label.