So long as anyone has an air defense network that we might (and this is a very remote might) want to penetrate we need planes like the B-2 than can penetrate them. Once you have such planes you use them, even when you don't need that capability.
I beg to differ. You can make the tax code as simple as you want, people will still hire someone else to do it. I know people who qualify for the 1040ez, a form as easy as you say (how much did you make last year, subtract this number, look up the results in the back, and calculate your refund) who hire their taxes done!
I personally do all my own taxes, and I itemize deductions, a process that has a reputation for being hard. It isn't though, just tedious. People don't do their own taxes because they don't want to, not because they cannot!
The groups you mention also send only their brightest to the US to study. Compare the average American to the smartest Chinese and it is no surprize the Chinese are smarter. However there are a lot of bright Americans too. I went to an engineering school, and those students got just as good of grades as the elite Chinese.
The Americans also has the advantage of culture. Sure that Chinese guy was smart, but the average American in an engineering school (who is also a little elite) is worth more than the smarter Chinese in any group project. Brains are not the only consideration. They are not even the most important. (note that this applies in reverse, an American in China would be as badly off as the Chinese in America)
No they are not banning access to their network. They are banning all devices, those connected to their network (which I agree is a right they have) and those connected to some other network. Cable modems are apparently avaliable in dorm rooms, they are banning connecting wifi to those networks.
If the university doesn't want various APs conflicting with their network, than the university should get a licesned network and install that. 2.4ghz is unlicensed, anyone can use it so long as they are not too powerful.
If equipment doesn't exist for licensed bands, or i too expensive, well TOO BAD, they choose to use cheap stuff, they can deal with the hardships.
Note that HAMs can get a license for the 2.4 ghz band, and shut you down if your AP causes problems, but the university is unlikely to qualify for that license.
Private schools do have stricter rules. However no university in the US is allowed to enforce policy that conflicts with federal law. Any student who wants to fight this should have an easy case. And most universities have a student legal service who will represent you for free (a lot of fine print in there though)
Doesn't matter, federal law trumps all state and local regulations. The university is very likely (though IANAL) to loose any case that is brought against them in regards to this issue. The courts are very likely to say that the code of conduct cannot be used to ban unregulated wireless because only the federal government has that right.
I believe electors should not be allowed to decide who they will vote for before the national election. Each party can put electors on the ballot, but each elector runs separately. It would increase representation. It would allow you to vote mostly democrats, but vote against the anti-gun democrats, if that is how you wish to vote!
After the polls close the electors gather together and come to an agreement (by the deadline in the constitution or it goes to congress). Since each electors is independent, electors can compromise on someone in the other party, but with important beliefs to shared with the other. (for example, a anti-abortion democrat)
The electoral college is there because a good leader may have to piss people off.
Bush seems to be for it. Last I heard Kerry is against it, but he has already changed a number of other positions since then so who knows.
Either way, there is more than this one issue. I will personally guarantee that whoever is elected they will at least once do something that will piss you off!
You can do that. It requires a lot of setup, since you need to figure out how to map the right keyboard to each display, but people have done it.
It is not default, because dual monitor systems are common (and increase productivity) and some people do have more than one mouse (or keyboard) when there it accomplishes something.
Minnesota. I've never been in a wal-mart as trashed as you say. (though this is a tiny sample)
When Wal-Mart came to town all those mom-and-pop stores that we went to only because they were close went out of business. Those that actually had customer service did just fine. It was Ben Franklin and Pamada (two local chains that were no better than wal-mart) that left. Good riddance to them all.
Before wal-mart people drove half and hour to the mall for all their big shopping, after wal-mart they could shop locally.
Does it really matter? If I could get all my wal-mart purchases for free it would save me some money. More than you might think because eventually I need new shoes, and suddenly I'd be buying them at wal-mart. (Assuming they have some that fit) Sure they might only last a few months, but for the price (nothing) I can buy many pairs of shoes[1].
Apply this to everything else wal-mart carries that I could get the same thing elsewhere. That leaves a lot of extra money left over for things that I can't get at wal-mart. With a garrage sale every few months I could buy things just to sell and make money.
Mind this is unethical so I wouldn't do it. I can think of plenty of things I'd buy if I was the type to do this.
[1]there is a good joke that fits here but I'm not gonna try to spell the names...
I've found that since I quit caring enough to let stress affect me I get the work done better. The worst they can do to me is fire me. Big deal I can get a job anywhere. (not making as much money but I can live on less) Now that I'm not stressed out about how am I going to get everything done by a deadline I prioritize.
Last project my boss told me I will have X, Y, and Z done, no excuses. I knew enough to say Z is a lower priority, so I did X and Y first (they depended on each other to a large extent), and only after they were done did I look at Z. My boss doesn't make all the decisions, he was told X, Y, and Z, but there is always flexability. If I hadn't been done by the deadline he can go to his boss and say "We have a choice, ship with X and Y but not Z or wait a week and get all three", which gives management a choice they know how to make. When I gave into stress I would have tried to do them all at once, not been able to get any done and been late. Now that I ignore stress and just do my best I get X and Y done before I do Z. I finish faster because my attention isn't divided.
Sim cards are nice, but there is NOTHING GSM specific about them. You can impliment something the is identical to GSM in all ways exepct it lacks a sim card and it will still work. Legally you can't call it GSM. (You might not be able to use it depending on patent laws)
Beyond that GSM version 3 is CDMA! Thats right, the next GSM standard is a form of CDMA. It has those GSM advantages like a sim card. CDMA is a better protocol than TDMA (GSM version 2 which is what most of the world uses is TDMA). No it doesn't have GPRS, it has something else with a different name that does the same thing.
GSM covers a lot more than the simple protocols. It would be nice if the CDMA providers got on board with sim cards. There are a lot of other implimentation problems with what everyone calls CDMA. However they are implimentation details, not technical.
How many super colliders are their in the world. So if I get some time in one, and do some tests, and then falsify the results who will know? There are only so many places in the world that could duplicate my results (and even then they may not have the exact setup needed, meaning millions would have to be invested).
In other words in theory I can duplicate your results. In practice I don't have the equipment. So as a reviewer I look at your process and say "Yep, if he did what he claimed to do, and measured what he claims, then getting those results from the test confirms that conclusion". If the test results were falsified I didn't do the test so I won't know. Indeed I won't know until someone else uses that data to make a prediction, doesn't get the expected results, does more experiments until he suspects the previously trusted data is false leading to his incorrect results.
Wikipedia is a perfect link for slashdot. Not authoritative, but if someone doesn't trust some information and it is in wikipedia they have some verification that at least others think the same way. If you still don't belive it, you can research it and edit wikipedia so that others don't get incorrect ideas.
Wikipedia depends on people being honest. While that isn't always true, I've looked up subjects I knew something about and found Wikipedia to be correct in all cases but one. Thats not too bad. (And I corrected that one bad page)
I'd go so far as to submit that the vast majority of incorrect information on wikipedia comes from someone testing the system! In effect the problems with quality are a result of those testing it because they don't trust it!
Why I support war... That depends on the war. If we are talking about Vietnam or Iraq (note that I also don't support the positions of the anti-Iraq war if can figure that out. I don't think I can explain it in under 10,000 words so I'm not gonna type it) I don't support it. If we are talking about the American revolution or similar I support it. War is sometimes the only answer to tyrany.
I support war and armies for much the same reason I support police. I don't want police keeping track of me at all, but something needs to be done about murderers and thieves. Its a compromise, evil people exist so I have to deal with them.
How long did it take them to get that? Microsoft has been complacent for several years, doing nothing to advance their browser. Mozilla starts to gain ground and then they do something. I'd say complacency fits perfect with what they were doing with IE until just a few months ago.
One of my favorite sites, and something I think all geeks will enjoy: Tim Hunkin's machines He did some work for the London science museum (pictures on his site), so it is on topic.
I hope he can stand up to a slashdotting... if not, save the link and look some otherday, it is well worth it IMHO.
Everyone missunderstands me. There are legitimate questions about his service record, and I don't want to gloss over them. However there is nothing he can do about others who have the connections to get him a better position.
I can't blame them either, if one of my loved ones had to serve I'd do my best to make sure that service was someplace where they were unlike to be killed. Someone has to die in war, thats the reality, but I'd prefer it to not be anyone I know. (of course it would be better if there was no war at all)
Sigh, the old definitions... I suppose my useage was slightly off. My point is that while there are way to rig any system, so far as we know nobody has actually tried. Our complaints are something that could happen, not something that has happened.
Back in 2000 we had an election where the winner got less votes than the looser[1], yet there were no riots! I have to say that I don't see much difference.
Over here bosses are concerned about the bottom line too. However there have been instances in history where someone (normally not the boss, but some criminal who wanted his friend to be sherif) did care who was elected and was willing to use force. There have also be cases in third world countries where someone has cared enough to force people to vote their way.
Note that the vulnerabilities were are talking about are theoretical. They can happen so we want them eliminated as best we can. So far as we know these companies are not committing fraud. They could however, and we want them to have that opportunity.
[1]By a process set out 200+ years ago the popular vote is enough to win, the idea being to protect those smaller states who will have smaller populations but still have valid concerns. There is a lot of debate about if this is a good idea.
Its not his fault that he has powerful relatives, who are entirely capable of acting without his input. I'm not saying that he didn't ask for any help, but luck (being born right) happens to some. There are still questions about his service, but at least he did something.
Slashdot Mirror
So long as anyone has an air defense network that we might (and this is a very remote might) want to penetrate we need planes like the B-2 than can penetrate them. Once you have such planes you use them, even when you don't need that capability.
I beg to differ. You can make the tax code as simple as you want, people will still hire someone else to do it. I know people who qualify for the 1040ez, a form as easy as you say (how much did you make last year, subtract this number, look up the results in the back, and calculate your refund) who hire their taxes done!
I personally do all my own taxes, and I itemize deductions, a process that has a reputation for being hard. It isn't though, just tedious. People don't do their own taxes because they don't want to, not because they cannot!
The groups you mention also send only their brightest to the US to study. Compare the average American to the smartest Chinese and it is no surprize the Chinese are smarter. However there are a lot of bright Americans too. I went to an engineering school, and those students got just as good of grades as the elite Chinese.
The Americans also has the advantage of culture. Sure that Chinese guy was smart, but the average American in an engineering school (who is also a little elite) is worth more than the smarter Chinese in any group project. Brains are not the only consideration. They are not even the most important. (note that this applies in reverse, an American in China would be as badly off as the Chinese in America)
No they are not banning access to their network. They are banning all devices, those connected to their network (which I agree is a right they have) and those connected to some other network. Cable modems are apparently avaliable in dorm rooms, they are banning connecting wifi to those networks.
If the university doesn't want various APs conflicting with their network, than the university should get a licesned network and install that. 2.4ghz is unlicensed, anyone can use it so long as they are not too powerful.
If equipment doesn't exist for licensed bands, or i too expensive, well TOO BAD, they choose to use cheap stuff, they can deal with the hardships.
Note that HAMs can get a license for the 2.4 ghz band, and shut you down if your AP causes problems, but the university is unlikely to qualify for that license.
Private schools do have stricter rules. However no university in the US is allowed to enforce policy that conflicts with federal law. Any student who wants to fight this should have an easy case. And most universities have a student legal service who will represent you for free (a lot of fine print in there though)
Doesn't matter, federal law trumps all state and local regulations. The university is very likely (though IANAL) to loose any case that is brought against them in regards to this issue. The courts are very likely to say that the code of conduct cannot be used to ban unregulated wireless because only the federal government has that right.
I believe electors should not be allowed to decide who they will vote for before the national election. Each party can put electors on the ballot, but each elector runs separately. It would increase representation. It would allow you to vote mostly democrats, but vote against the anti-gun democrats, if that is how you wish to vote!
After the polls close the electors gather together and come to an agreement (by the deadline in the constitution or it goes to congress). Since each electors is independent, electors can compromise on someone in the other party, but with important beliefs to shared with the other. (for example, a anti-abortion democrat)
The electoral college is there because a good leader may have to piss people off.
Sounds good to me. Spend it on door to door salesmen while all the working folk are busy at their jobs. I like it.
Thats a completely different type of evil. Yes Muslims are evil and all that, but on a completely different level.
Most people would agree that murder is evil no matter who does it, and in who's name they do it.
Bush seems to be for it. Last I heard Kerry is against it, but he has already changed a number of other positions since then so who knows.
Either way, there is more than this one issue. I will personally guarantee that whoever is elected they will at least once do something that will piss you off!
Doesn't this all belong in politics though?
You can do that. It requires a lot of setup, since you need to figure out how to map the right keyboard to each display, but people have done it.
It is not default, because dual monitor systems are common (and increase productivity) and some people do have more than one mouse (or keyboard) when there it accomplishes something.
Minnesota. I've never been in a wal-mart as trashed as you say. (though this is a tiny sample)
When Wal-Mart came to town all those mom-and-pop stores that we went to only because they were close went out of business. Those that actually had customer service did just fine. It was Ben Franklin and Pamada (two local chains that were no better than wal-mart) that left. Good riddance to them all.
Before wal-mart people drove half and hour to the mall for all their big shopping, after wal-mart they could shop locally.
Does it really matter? If I could get all my wal-mart purchases for free it would save me some money. More than you might think because eventually I need new shoes, and suddenly I'd be buying them at wal-mart. (Assuming they have some that fit) Sure they might only last a few months, but for the price (nothing) I can buy many pairs of shoes[1].
Apply this to everything else wal-mart carries that I could get the same thing elsewhere. That leaves a lot of extra money left over for things that I can't get at wal-mart. With a garrage sale every few months I could buy things just to sell and make money.
Mind this is unethical so I wouldn't do it. I can think of plenty of things I'd buy if I was the type to do this.
[1]there is a good joke that fits here but I'm not gonna try to spell the names...
I've found that since I quit caring enough to let stress affect me I get the work done better. The worst they can do to me is fire me. Big deal I can get a job anywhere. (not making as much money but I can live on less) Now that I'm not stressed out about how am I going to get everything done by a deadline I prioritize.
Last project my boss told me I will have X, Y, and Z done, no excuses. I knew enough to say Z is a lower priority, so I did X and Y first (they depended on each other to a large extent), and only after they were done did I look at Z. My boss doesn't make all the decisions, he was told X, Y, and Z, but there is always flexability. If I hadn't been done by the deadline he can go to his boss and say "We have a choice, ship with X and Y but not Z or wait a week and get all three", which gives management a choice they know how to make. When I gave into stress I would have tried to do them all at once, not been able to get any done and been late. Now that I ignore stress and just do my best I get X and Y done before I do Z. I finish faster because my attention isn't divided.
Sim cards are nice, but there is NOTHING GSM specific about them. You can impliment something the is identical to GSM in all ways exepct it lacks a sim card and it will still work. Legally you can't call it GSM. (You might not be able to use it depending on patent laws)
Beyond that GSM version 3 is CDMA! Thats right, the next GSM standard is a form of CDMA. It has those GSM advantages like a sim card. CDMA is a better protocol than TDMA (GSM version 2 which is what most of the world uses is TDMA). No it doesn't have GPRS, it has something else with a different name that does the same thing.
GSM covers a lot more than the simple protocols. It would be nice if the CDMA providers got on board with sim cards. There are a lot of other implimentation problems with what everyone calls CDMA. However they are implimentation details, not technical.
How many super colliders are their in the world. So if I get some time in one, and do some tests, and then falsify the results who will know? There are only so many places in the world that could duplicate my results (and even then they may not have the exact setup needed, meaning millions would have to be invested).
In other words in theory I can duplicate your results. In practice I don't have the equipment. So as a reviewer I look at your process and say "Yep, if he did what he claimed to do, and measured what he claims, then getting those results from the test confirms that conclusion". If the test results were falsified I didn't do the test so I won't know. Indeed I won't know until someone else uses that data to make a prediction, doesn't get the expected results, does more experiments until he suspects the previously trusted data is false leading to his incorrect results.
Wikipedia is a perfect link for slashdot. Not authoritative, but if someone doesn't trust some information and it is in wikipedia they have some verification that at least others think the same way. If you still don't belive it, you can research it and edit wikipedia so that others don't get incorrect ideas.
Wikipedia depends on people being honest. While that isn't always true, I've looked up subjects I knew something about and found Wikipedia to be correct in all cases but one. Thats not too bad. (And I corrected that one bad page)
I'd go so far as to submit that the vast majority of incorrect information on wikipedia comes from someone testing the system! In effect the problems with quality are a result of those testing it because they don't trust it!
Why I support war... That depends on the war. If we are talking about Vietnam or Iraq (note that I also don't support the positions of the anti-Iraq war if can figure that out. I don't think I can explain it in under 10,000 words so I'm not gonna type it) I don't support it. If we are talking about the American revolution or similar I support it. War is sometimes the only answer to tyrany.
I support war and armies for much the same reason I support police. I don't want police keeping track of me at all, but something needs to be done about murderers and thieves. Its a compromise, evil people exist so I have to deal with them.
How long did it take them to get that? Microsoft has been complacent for several years, doing nothing to advance their browser. Mozilla starts to gain ground and then they do something. I'd say complacency fits perfect with what they were doing with IE until just a few months ago.
One of my favorite sites, and something I think all geeks will enjoy: Tim Hunkin's machines He did some work for the London science museum (pictures on his site), so it is on topic.
I hope he can stand up to a slashdotting... if not, save the link and look some otherday, it is well worth it IMHO.
Everyone missunderstands me. There are legitimate questions about his service record, and I don't want to gloss over them. However there is nothing he can do about others who have the connections to get him a better position.
I can't blame them either, if one of my loved ones had to serve I'd do my best to make sure that service was someplace where they were unlike to be killed. Someone has to die in war, thats the reality, but I'd prefer it to not be anyone I know. (of course it would be better if there was no war at all)
Sigh, the old definitions... I suppose my useage was slightly off. My point is that while there are way to rig any system, so far as we know nobody has actually tried. Our complaints are something that could happen, not something that has happened.
Back in 2000 we had an election where the winner got less votes than the looser[1], yet there were no riots! I have to say that I don't see much difference.
Over here bosses are concerned about the bottom line too. However there have been instances in history where someone (normally not the boss, but some criminal who wanted his friend to be sherif) did care who was elected and was willing to use force. There have also be cases in third world countries where someone has cared enough to force people to vote their way.
Note that the vulnerabilities were are talking about are theoretical. They can happen so we want them eliminated as best we can. So far as we know these companies are not committing fraud. They could however, and we want them to have that opportunity.
[1]By a process set out 200+ years ago the popular vote is enough to win, the idea being to protect those smaller states who will have smaller populations but still have valid concerns. There is a lot of debate about if this is a good idea.
Its not his fault that he has powerful relatives, who are entirely capable of acting without his input. I'm not saying that he didn't ask for any help, but luck (being born right) happens to some. There are still questions about his service, but at least he did something.