Any given book in the public domain that google scans is just as free as it was before. You could scan a copy and put it on the internet. Google doesn't take any opportunity away from you, but instead gives you relatively easy access to out of print books. don't you think that they deserve to turn a profit from that effort?
As for circumventing copyright law, i don't think that is true either. They entered into an agreement in which the publishers would waive the right to sue. If you publish something without going through any of the ones that they got agreements from then you can still take legal action.
The only way Windows will be fixed is to start with a clean sheet of paper, completely re-write the entire code base. There are errors in XP that were unfixed errors in 98. I've seen 2 errors in XP that were identical to ones in 3.1. That is a lack of attention to detail.
Your right about the problem being history but it isn't necessarily a "lack of attention". My understanding is that a fair amount of programs take advantage of bugs. Simply fixing them would cause problems for users. No one likes it when programs stop working after a patch.
Your arguement is elegant and well thought out but let me pose 2 questions.
First, is there any reason a MUCH larger sail couldn't be used? the sail material is light and would be easy to get into orbit.
Second, i wouldn't think that a solar sail would suit going to mars and i don't believe i ever asserted that. But it could be more effective then Voyager for long term missions?
small acceleration over a long time period still produces a large velocity. and from what i understand a earth based/orbiting laser could give an initial push to the craft.
The problem with the parent's post is the sail itself. Our solar system is a rocky and dangerous space, and so far, we have no idea what the area outside of it is like either.
news flash: space is fairly empty. the statistical chance of being hit by debri AWAY FROM EARTH is small.
Next, between those times when the sails are not up, the ship will probably want to keep thrust, so it will have to carry onboard some propellant to keep its thrust up during the times it is without sails. Thus, the ship will lose a significant portion of weight during its travel.
The craft will stay in motion until another force is applied to it. Once the craft gets to a given velocity the sail can be jettisoned. It is not necessary to thrust except possibly to slow down.
Lastly, unless we align everything like we did with the Voyager launches, gravity will not be so forth coming for this space craft. This will probably mean multiple near-sun passes to build up the speed nessicary to exit the solar system and continue on to the next star. This means some clever routing by computer simulations, along with a computer figuring when to discard and open new sails along the way.
The point of the solar sail is that it will be able to attain a much higher velocity then voyager due to the constant acceleration of the sail. And computer simulation is cheap.
my $.02
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How is this not a good thing?
Any given book in the public domain that google scans is just as free as it was before. You could scan a copy and put it on the internet. Google doesn't take any opportunity away from you, but instead gives you relatively easy access to out of print books. don't you think that they deserve to turn a profit from that effort?
As for circumventing copyright law, i don't think that is true either. They entered into an agreement in which the publishers would waive the right to sue. If you publish something without going through any of the ones that they got agreements from then you can still take legal action.
unless they are moving state lines, gerrymandering does not seem relevant to presidential elections...
Agreed, Toyota did the R&D and they deserve to profit from it for ~20 years.
People should be glad that they are willing to license out there patents. They could have made it a lot tougher on Ford.
The wiki article makes it sound like a good weight loss diet in moderation.
anybody else wondering if there will ever be a backslash on a backslash?
it could go on infinitly...
... there's a wide gray area between overprotecting your children and creating a nuturing environment...
hate to be his kids...
were they via chipsets or nvidia chipsets? or a mix? i've had bad experiences with via chipsets.
Disclaimer: I am a plasma physicist working in the magnetic fusion arena.
Isn't that a claim?
The only way Windows will be fixed is to start with a clean sheet of paper, completely re-write the entire code base. There are errors in XP that were unfixed errors in 98. I've seen 2 errors in XP that were identical to ones in 3.1. That is a lack of attention to detail.
Your right about the problem being history but it isn't necessarily a "lack of attention". My understanding is that a fair amount of programs take advantage of bugs. Simply fixing them would cause problems for users. No one likes it when programs stop working after a patch.
I thought this was about the seattle music scene...
Seriously shouldn't it be "Java Performance Urban Legends"
AMD's architecture was a better fit for Apples initiatives, or stated initiatives
Honestly Apple is better suited with a company that can produce the processor and motherboard.
Your arguement is elegant and well thought out but let me pose 2 questions. First, is there any reason a MUCH larger sail couldn't be used? the sail material is light and would be easy to get into orbit. Second, i wouldn't think that a solar sail would suit going to mars and i don't believe i ever asserted that. But it could be more effective then Voyager for long term missions?
small acceleration over a long time period still produces a large velocity. and from what i understand a earth based/orbiting laser could give an initial push to the craft.
The problem with the parent's post is the sail itself. Our solar system is a rocky and dangerous space, and so far, we have no idea what the area outside of it is like either.
news flash: space is fairly empty. the statistical chance of being hit by debri AWAY FROM EARTH is small.
Next, between those times when the sails are not up, the ship will probably want to keep thrust, so it will have to carry onboard some propellant to keep its thrust up during the times it is without sails. Thus, the ship will lose a significant portion of weight during its travel.
The craft will stay in motion until another force is applied to it. Once the craft gets to a given velocity the sail can be jettisoned. It is not necessary to thrust except possibly to slow down.
Lastly, unless we align everything like we did with the Voyager launches, gravity will not be so forth coming for this space craft. This will probably mean multiple near-sun passes to build up the speed nessicary to exit the solar system and continue on to the next star. This means some clever routing by computer simulations, along with a computer figuring when to discard and open new sails along the way.
The point of the solar sail is that it will be able to attain a much higher velocity then voyager due to the constant acceleration of the sail. And computer simulation is cheap. my $.02
Stargate in the same time slot.