Yes, Edison electrocuted many animals, but it wasn't to disprove Tesla's theories. Rather, it was to 'demonstrate' that AC electricity (Tesla's system), was more lethal than Edison's preferred DC. Edison put on elaborate shows in which he electrocuted horses, dogs, elephants, and just about any other animal he could get his hands on (he was also known for paying children 25 cents for each stray dog they could bring him). Edison claimed that while AC electricity was obviously lethal, DC was not (which is patently false).
Interesting that Edison's name is synonomous with electricity even today, although the electricity we use in our homes is Tesla's alternating current.
Of course Microsoft invented the iPod....just like they 'invented' the GUI (Apple), Active Directory (Novell), and the TCP-IP stack (BSD). You would be a fool and a communist to insinuate otherwise (apologies to Bill Hicks).
From TFA:
So far, Microsoft hasn't been able to dent the Apple iPod dominance
Hey, if you can't beat 'em, litigate 'em to death, I guess...and people bitch and moan when I use the abbreviation M$...
You raise an excellent point here...we got started on this slippery slope when we sat back and complacently let urinanalysis in the workplace start chipping away at our civil rights.
But there's one important difference between testing for the presence of illicit chemicals and testing for the presence of genetic predispositions: while I can choose to indulge or not to indulge in illicit drugs, I cannot change my genetic code. This fudamental difference marks the boundary, and this difference is what we must base our stand upon.
The fight to keep our history of illicit drug use private has been lost...the fight to keep our genetic code private has just begun.
I'm thinking that this issue should be fairly cut-and dry...genetic testing without properly obtained consent (or a lawfully obtained court order), should, and must, be considered an invasion of privacy.
From TFA:
In 2003 and again in this 2005 session, the U.S. Senate passed a bill to prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance and employment. That bill -- introduced by Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, but with co-sponsors including Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, Democrats of Washington -- now awaits action in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation is supported by the Bush administration and if enacted into law would ensure that no one in America would lose their jobs or their health insurance because of a genetic test result.
Granted, this legislation is certainly important, but it sidesteps the central issue: no one should have access to my genetic code without my permission or a warrant. Period. My company can't break into my house and inspect my personal belongings...what makes it OK for them to inspect my genome? Granted, if the above mentioned legislation passes, companies will not be able to overtly discriminate based on these findings...but all this really means is that if they want to get rid of an employee because of genetic considerations, they will just have to dream up some sort of pretense to remove the offending employee.
Yes, I'm sure that if genetic testing of individuals without their consent were to be outlawed, some companies would continue doing it in secret, just as if discrimination was outlawed, some companies would circumvent the law as I outlined above. But the point remains valid: if outlawing discrimination based on genetic tests protects employees to some degree, then it folllows that outlawing the genetic testing of individuals without their consent in the first place would enhance that protection considerably.
More importantly, if this issue isn't nipped in the bud firmly and immediately, we couold find ourselves on a slippery slope of truly brobdingnagian proportions. Imagine a world where you are under constant surveillance by law enforcement...not because you have a history of violent crime, but because you have a genetic predisposition to violence. You find it difficult to get a job because of your genetic predisposition to adult ADD, and you can't get health insurance because you are geneticlly predisposed to heart problems.
A line in the sand must be drawn now, before Gattica becomes an uncomfortable reality.
Today elation swept across our fair world when it was revealed by the Council that the invaders from the evil blue planet have been stymied in their latest efforts to despoil our perfect planet.
K'Breel, Speaker for the Council, was on hand to address the jubilant masses:
"Gentle Citizens, today I stand before you with my gelsacs swollen with pride. Today I reveal to you that our wise and powerful Council, not being content to merely defend our world against the constant antagonism by the filthy inhabitants of the evil blue planet, have struck a blow agains the aggressors on their own horrid soil! Utilizing our superior technology, we have caused irreperable damage to one of their loathsome machines while it still squatted on the noisome loam of the evil blue planet! All glory to the Council!"
During the question-and-answer session that followed, when asked by a citizen whether rumours were true that the device damaged was only a minor inconvinence to the sickening inhabitants of the evil blue planet, and that in all probability the craft would be launched within a day, K'Breel ordered the citizen's summary execution. The remainder of the question-and-answer session passed in a remarkably subdued manner.
Actually, I've recommended a few open-source alternatives to my management, and so far we've saved a few grand. My boss will do just about anything to save on the bottom line, and when I tell him that I can fill a particular need with OSS and get out cheaper, he's beside himself wth joy.
Re:Ah, the joys of copy-protection...
on
Textbooks With EULAs
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
And yes, ebooks have been cracked, and will be again. Particularly when you foist them upon a young, rebellious, smarter than average, and technologically savvy demographic group.
This bright idea is doomed to failure, and I for one am going to enjoy watching it go down in flames.
It is unfortunate that learning has become a profit commodity for a privileged few
Have you seen the cost of tuition lately? Universities have always been about being a profit commodity...not that much 'learning' happens there, anyway...
White: 75.1% Black or African American: 12.3% American Indian and Alaska Native: 0.9% Asian: 3.6% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander: 0.1% Two or more races: 2.4% Some other race: 5.5% Hispanic or Latino: 12.5%
(NOTE: Percentages do not add up to 100% due to rounding, and because Hispanics may be of any race and are therefore counted under more than one category.)
Interesting read...the first thing that came to my mind when I read this is that these organic wires may be just the thing for the interface between electronics and organic tisue. One of the major problems in cybernetics is that the chemistry of the implants tends to be poisonous to the surrounding tissue, while the chemistry of the surrounding tisue tends to be corrosive to the implant. Over time, the interface degrades and must eventually be replaced. Utilizing the genetic code from these microbes to express nanowires within some of our cells may eliminate this problem and pave the way for permanent interfaces sooner than we thought.
Super. It's about time we monkey with the way we reckon time again...after all, we had almost gotten used to the current insane standard.
I would propose a rather radically different option...eliminate time zones in the U.S. altogether. That's right, no time zones at all...everyone can just use GMT. I'm not advocating that everyone go to work at 09:00 GMT...business can determine what hours they want their employees to work, based on the amount of daylight available at that particular time of year, but the time standard would be the same everywhere. That way, there would be none of this bullshit confusion about 'what time is that here', or 'what is the time there'. It's GMT. The same damned time everywhere.
We're already a global community...it only makes sense to adopt a global time. Of course, asking the country that still uses Imperial measurement units to spearhead this change might be asking a bit much...
There is no doubt that these chips can benefit a significant number of people...from medical information to bar tabs, the applications are endless. However, we shouldn't lose sight of one important application these chips are being pushed for...
From TFA:
Civil liberties groups such as Caspian in the US fear that the need for increased security in the wake of terrorist attacks could act as a catalyst for a more widespread use of VeriChips.
That's really what this is all about, isn't it? Unfortunately, although many may consider implanted RFID chips to be the security 'magic wand', this simply isn't the case. If a beach club can program and insert a chip for you, it's not too far a stretch to imagine terrorist groups programming and inserting bogus chips in their operatives. In the context of security, all this does is create a false sense of security.
The other major concern regarding implanted RFID chips is the increased danger of information/identity theft. If all a thief needs to do to lift your information, including your identity, medical records, and bar tabs, is stand next to you on the subway, we're going to see a whole new chapter written in the history of information theft.
Google representatives have instituted a policy of not talking with CNET News.com reporters until July 2006 in response to privacy issues raised by a previous story.
Sorry, Eric, but 'privacy' isn't the issue here. All the information Cnet obtained about you was freely available on the Web, and you have no reasonable expectation of privacy there.
The fact that the information was gathered using the Google search engine is just icing on the cake.
So educate me then... aren't you saying that by defining scientific discipline as such that it is impossible for something "bigger" than us to exist?
Absolutely not. I never said that science was able to encompass the whole of God's Creation...to assert that would be the height of hubris. In fact, I stated exactly the opposite, when I asserted that ID was a matter of faith, and therefore outside of the purview of logic. After all, you can disbelieve in the ocean all you like, but if you step in it, you're going to get just as wet.
french ID cards are a thousand times more secure than your dollar bills
What an idiotic statement...for three reasons:
Just how did you arrive at that figure 'a thousand times'? Show your math, please.
The U.S. one-dollar bill is perhaps the most insecure piece of currency on the planet. Eight-year-old children can create counterfeit dollar bills with a decent color inkjet printer. Sorry, but something a 'thousand times' more secure than a joke does not exactly inspire feelings of security and trust.
...the intelligent and functional Slashdot crowd...
Bwah ha ha ha...are you enjoying your stay in our dimension? When are you due back in BizzaroWorld? ^_^
Seriously, though, I don't think any intellectually honest Slashdotter out there would assert that the vaunted 'information wants to be free' catch phrase should be interpreted as 'free as in beer'. Information is most certainly not free...if it was, many of us would be out of a job. This being the Information Age, information is the prime economic mover, and therefore, most slashdotters are understandably upset when their own personal information is mined by corporations and passed around as currency. This leads to a very real devaluation of our personal worth, as the intrusiveness of companies serves to reduce our quality of life.
Yes, of course, because the National ID card is the magic wand of the identification world, isn't it? There's no way any one could possibly forge one of those...
Slashdot Mirror
Here you go:
Microsoft Frowned at for Smiley Patent
Why Bill Gates Wants 3,000 New Patents
Microsoft's Bold Patent Move
I wasn't listing the original inventors..I was listing the people Microsoft lifted the ideas from.
Other people figured that out...why couldn't you?
Yes, Edison electrocuted many animals, but it wasn't to disprove Tesla's theories. Rather, it was to 'demonstrate' that AC electricity (Tesla's system), was more lethal than Edison's preferred DC. Edison put on elaborate shows in which he electrocuted horses, dogs, elephants, and just about any other animal he could get his hands on (he was also known for paying children 25 cents for each stray dog they could bring him). Edison claimed that while AC electricity was obviously lethal, DC was not (which is patently false).
Interesting that Edison's name is synonomous with electricity even today, although the electricity we use in our homes is Tesla's alternating current.
Here's that link you were too lazy to include.
And yes, it is funny. ^_^
Of course Microsoft invented the iPod....just like they 'invented' the GUI (Apple), Active Directory (Novell), and the TCP-IP stack (BSD).
You would be a fool and a communist to insinuate otherwise (apologies to Bill Hicks).
From TFA:Hey, if you can't beat 'em, litigate 'em to death, I guess...and people bitch and moan when I use the abbreviation M$...
You raise an excellent point here...we got started on this slippery slope when we sat back and complacently let urinanalysis in the workplace start chipping away at our civil rights.
But there's one important difference between testing for the presence of illicit chemicals and testing for the presence of genetic predispositions: while I can choose to indulge or not to indulge in illicit drugs, I cannot change my genetic code. This fudamental difference marks the boundary, and this difference is what we must base our stand upon.
The fight to keep our history of illicit drug use private has been lost...the fight to keep our genetic code private has just begun.
From TFA: Granted, this legislation is certainly important, but it sidesteps the central issue: no one should have access to my genetic code without my permission or a warrant. Period. My company can't break into my house and inspect my personal belongings...what makes it OK for them to inspect my genome? Granted, if the above mentioned legislation passes, companies will not be able to overtly discriminate based on these findings...but all this really means is that if they want to get rid of an employee because of genetic considerations, they will just have to dream up some sort of pretense to remove the offending employee.
Yes, I'm sure that if genetic testing of individuals without their consent were to be outlawed, some companies would continue doing it in secret, just as if discrimination was outlawed, some companies would circumvent the law as I outlined above. But the point remains valid: if outlawing discrimination based on genetic tests protects employees to some degree, then it folllows that outlawing the genetic testing of individuals without their consent in the first place would enhance that protection considerably.
More importantly, if this issue isn't nipped in the bud firmly and immediately, we couold find ourselves on a slippery slope of truly brobdingnagian proportions. Imagine a world where you are under constant surveillance by law enforcement...not because you have a history of violent crime, but because you have a genetic predisposition to violence. You find it difficult to get a job because of your genetic predisposition to adult ADD, and you can't get health insurance because you are geneticlly predisposed to heart problems.
A line in the sand must be drawn now, before Gattica becomes an uncomfortable reality.
K'Breel, Speaker for the Council, was on hand to address the jubilant masses:
During the question-and-answer session that followed, when asked by a citizen whether rumours were true that the device damaged was only a minor inconvinence to the sickening inhabitants of the evil blue planet, and that in all probability the craft would be launched within a day, K'Breel ordered the citizen's summary execution. The remainder of the question-and-answer session passed in a remarkably subdued manner.
Actually, I've recommended a few open-source alternatives to my management, and so far we've saved a few grand. My boss will do just about anything to save on the bottom line, and when I tell him that I can fill a particular need with OSS and get out cheaper, he's beside himself wth joy.
I believe this is the case youre referring to.
And yes, ebooks have been cracked, and will be again. Particularly when you foist them upon a young, rebellious, smarter than average, and technologically savvy demographic group.
This bright idea is doomed to failure, and I for one am going to enjoy watching it go down in flames.
It is unfortunate that learning has become a profit commodity for a privileged few
Have you seen the cost of tuition lately? Universities have always been about being a profit commodity...not that much 'learning' happens there, anyway...
Here's the numbers from the 2000 U.S. Census:
White: 75.1%
Black or African American: 12.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native: 0.9%
Asian: 3.6%
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
Two or more races: 2.4%
Some other race: 5.5%
Hispanic or Latino: 12.5%
(NOTE: Percentages do not add up to 100% due to rounding, and because Hispanics may be of any race and are therefore counted under more than one category.)
From TFA:
But in GTA: Vice City, Tommy Vercetti is Italian, and that's OK? As the fiancee of an American of Italian descent, I find that offensive!
Waitaminit....in RTCW, the Nazis were German! As an American of German descent, I find that offensive!
Hold on...in IGN's NCAA Football, they have the Notre Dame Fighting Irish??? As an American of Irish descent, I find that offensive!
(I could keep going, but I trust you all see the absurdity at this point...at least I hope you do...)
Interesting read...the first thing that came to my mind when I read this is that these organic wires may be just the thing for the interface between electronics and organic tisue. One of the major problems in cybernetics is that the chemistry of the implants tends to be poisonous to the surrounding tissue, while the chemistry of the surrounding tisue tends to be corrosive to the implant. Over time, the interface degrades and must eventually be replaced. Utilizing the genetic code from these microbes to express nanowires within some of our cells may eliminate this problem and pave the way for permanent interfaces sooner than we thought.
Super. It's about time we monkey with the way we reckon time again...after all, we had almost gotten used to the current insane standard.
I would propose a rather radically different option...eliminate time zones in the U.S. altogether. That's right, no time zones at all...everyone can just use GMT. I'm not advocating that everyone go to work at 09:00 GMT...business can determine what hours they want their employees to work, based on the amount of daylight available at that particular time of year, but the time standard would be the same everywhere. That way, there would be none of this bullshit confusion about 'what time is that here', or 'what is the time there'. It's GMT. The same damned time everywhere.
We're already a global community...it only makes sense to adopt a global time. Of course, asking the country that still uses Imperial measurement units to spearhead this change might be asking a bit much...
Why is murder necessary, when the chip can be extracted with a penknife?
From TFA:
That's really what this is all about, isn't it? Unfortunately, although many may consider implanted RFID chips to be the security 'magic wand', this simply isn't the case. If a beach club can program and insert a chip for you, it's not too far a stretch to imagine terrorist groups programming and inserting bogus chips in their operatives. In the context of security, all this does is create a false sense of security.
The other major concern regarding implanted RFID chips is the increased danger of information/identity theft. If all a thief needs to do to lift your information, including your identity, medical records, and bar tabs, is stand next to you on the subway, we're going to see a whole new chapter written in the history of information theft.
Because I saw this glamorous,compelling drama, and I wanted to be just like the protagonist. ^_^
Fom TFA:Sorry, Eric, but 'privacy' isn't the issue here. All the information Cnet obtained about you was freely available on the Web, and you have no reasonable expectation of privacy there.
The fact that the information was gathered using the Google search engine is just icing on the cake.
So educate me then... aren't you saying that by defining scientific discipline as such that it is impossible for something "bigger" than us to exist?
Absolutely not. I never said that science was able to encompass the whole of God's Creation...to assert that would be the height of hubris. In fact, I stated exactly the opposite, when I asserted that ID was a matter of faith, and therefore outside of the purview of logic. After all, you can disbelieve in the ocean all you like, but if you step in it, you're going to get just as wet.
Sorry about that...sometimes, my sentences move in strange directions. ^_^
french ID cards are a thousand times more secure than your dollar bills
What an idiotic statement...for three reasons:
Please log off before you hurt yourself.
"Free as in beer" is gratis. Beer is not libre.
That's precisely why I said "Libre, *not* gratis."
...the intelligent and functional Slashdot crowd...
Bwah ha ha ha...are you enjoying your stay in our dimension? When are you due back in BizzaroWorld? ^_^
Seriously, though, I don't think any intellectually honest Slashdotter out there would assert that the vaunted 'information wants to be free' catch phrase should be interpreted as 'free as in beer'. Information is most certainly not free...if it was, many of us would be out of a job. This being the Information Age, information is the prime economic mover, and therefore, most slashdotters are understandably upset when their own personal information is mined by corporations and passed around as currency. This leads to a very real devaluation of our personal worth, as the intrusiveness of companies serves to reduce our quality of life.
Yes, of course, because the National ID card is the magic wand of the identification world, isn't it? There's no way any one could possibly forge one of those...