To whoever accused the phrase "final say" as dictatorial, in a large software project someone HAS to have final say or the project will never move forwards. I think one of the key points is that if he is doing it out of love then no-one has the right to appoint himself his 'boss' and tell him how to run his hobby. I have never met RMS, but he never seems to amaze me in the way he finds the energy to persue both worthy and lost causes like a terrier. Nobody is going to say GNU/Linux. Ever. Why can't he instead channel that energy into his political career?
The Bravo channel do a series called "Mercenaries" here in the UK (Sat 8.30pm) which pit teams playing war games against each other. I allowed myself to be dragged into one episode so that I could kick CounterStrike butt on telly. They play a lot of new games that are coming out, as well as the established favourites, which is how I presume they make some money out of it. It would be nice to see a CS World Championship on TV where the top clans play each other, with slots where the top players give hints on what give them the edge.
Change the name to MP5. That way people won't think of changing file format, they will naturally want to upgrade their file format. Think of Thompson and MP3-Pro... Also if you get file sharing software to pattern match music to.mp* instead of.mp3 the files will start to be shared a lot more quickly. Finally a relaunch under a different name will give excellent press release opportunities.
They take and they add. KDE has a launch button and task bar, made famous by Win95
Made famous in the USA maybe, but the task bar was made famous in every British school by RiscOS circa 1989. Though the RiscOS taskbar was actually functional and not just a glorified on-screen version of Alt-Tab.
Korel Draw should be free of any legal issues... If you want to jump on buzzword bandwagon, then SVGK? Others: CirKle, Kalligraphy, ArtKompanion, BrushstroKe, DrawBespoKe, Kontemporary, LandsKape, um those off top of head. Sure others can think of more.
Wasn't the phrase "a solution looking for an application" most famously applied to the laser? You are now most probably reading this article on an OS installed off CD-Rom.
There are a number of reasons why RiscOS is suitable for this application:
ease of use - the gui is much easier to learn than eg Windows
ROM based - not only does it take less power by not having to access the HD all the time but it cannot get corrupted (not many techies in 3rd world countries to fix screwed up OS)
fast - the OS has been hand-optimised in assembler making it responsive even on low-power processors
Though they give running of a solar cell as an example, it can be a hybrid of many types of renewable energy. Wind, biomass (extracting oil from plants to power generator), etc. You can read more about what's going on in the world at Future Energies.
The amount of times I've had apps go haywire and had to reset due to the OS using CMT is rather silly.
You must have been running a dodgy 3rd party patch. I used RiscOS for years and it was rock solid. I used to leave my computer permanently on and can't remember ever having to do a reset. With a StrongARM the computer boots in under a second anyway.
How can an OS with CMT, no memory protection and uses kernel modules for libraries be considered reliable at anything other than mundane stuff?
True... and about 99% of computer use is for mundane stuff. I've used RiscOS as a web server without any problems, but I certainly wouldn't use it in production! But then why would I? Linux does the job great. However RiscOS blows Linux, Mac and Windows out of the water as a desktop machine. This is good for me because it gives me a competative edge over those having to use other OS.
RiscOS is also a joy to program. You can knock up a MT windowed application in an hour in BASIC, and when it runs (interpreted) it's lightening fast. Incredible. Programming assembler for the ARM is so easy too. The way it's so modular, you can change any aspect of the OS you like despite the fact it's not Open Source. The elegance of the architecture, it's ease of use... oh don't get me started or I'll go on for hours. RiscOS seriously rocks.
I guess Bush has watched Armageddon one too many times. Trying to reverse the effects of long-term damage to our planet when disaster actually strikes would be like trying to get an oil tanker at full speed to do a hand-brake turn. But I guess old coyboy Bush will just send up Bruce Willis to nuke a passing frozen comet over our atmosphere.
Check out Future Energies - the practical way to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
In the UK, Newham council estate have 144 CCTV cameras linked to face recognition. This is in turn linked to a database of a police supplied 'watch-list' so that they can be tracked as they walk around. You worry about being spied upon when walking into a Superbowl game? Soon we won't be able to walk around our own neighbourhood without the Government knowing exactly where we are at all times. And all this without putting GPS into our mobile phones and our cars.
No hiding online either. UK ISPs are going to have to store 7 years of traffic, and the Government already have state access to decryption keys. Our current government has been working for years to turn the United Kingdom into one of the most oppressive Big Brother states:-(
MP3 is just a shorthand way of saying MPEG-1 Layer 3, so it's not a trademark. Why not call Ogg Vorbis MP5? This makes it sound like an obvious upgrade.
... that Cable Modem users need to learn about firewalls to stop themselves from being willing *participants* in a DDoS attack rather than being a victim?
I think you'll find that's wrong. VISA recently released a statistic that ecommerce accounted for 4% of transactions but 50% of fraud. Some mentions are here and here etc. Take for example CD Universe having 350,000 credit card details stolen as told here... how many can a waiter copy down?
You are reimbursed both online and offline to the tune of $50 (£50 in UK) for now, but credit card companies aren't charities. The costs *will* be passed on.
In the offline world fraud is less common because in transactions with non-reputable parties you usually use cash (if you are sensible). This new scheme is there to provide you with the equivalent service. I'm all in favour of the digital equivalent of cash, and will be watching this new scheme with interest!
I'll stick with my creditcard though. Unsafe? I doubt it, I've been using it on-line for six years now and I have not encountered any false transaction yet. There's a bigger chance that some vague waiter at the restaurant copies your details when your card is out of sight than a cracker decrypting your SSL connection or breaking into your favourite e-shop.
Please, there have been innumerable cases of credit card databases being stolen and that's just the cases we've found out about (so no more over-abused waiter myth). The real reason credit cards are safe is that the credit card companies will reimburse you if the card has been used fraudulently. On the other hand this gives you zero privacy. The death of cash will be a great loss and so this new scheme sounds great and worth supporting.
Take a look at Future Energies. Their top article is "First Public biodiesel pumps open" which has happened in San Francisco. Lots of other articles there about fuel cell cars, electric cars, etc.
We ran this story in February in Future Energies (which in turn we picked up on from Salt Lake Tribune), and we were also excited about the possible power savings. We know that in conventional grid it's around 20%. When carrying the AC current there will be losses by motion of magnetic flux though the superconductor. Can anyone tell us what the losses will be through the superconducting cable?
No one can get a recognized blackbelt in Taekwondo below 18, unless it's just a pre-approved(Read: pseudo) blackbelt given by his trainer for his good work. But it's not a real blackbelt.
In your club maybe, but I received a black belt Tae Kwon Do at exactly the same age as this kid. I went to the same official gradings as everyone else, and had to perform the same sparring, patterns and breaking as any adult had to.
I also had a lot else in common, such computers being my primary interest. I used to hack into the school system, along with one of my best friends. I never really knew why I was doing it, there was no need as I had a computer at home, but I was just curious and wanted to see how far I could get.
Kids don't worry about breaking rules at that age, apart from the obvious killing and stealing the whole concept of 'illegal' is abstract - what matters is what your parents will tell you off for (and police only 'spy on you' on behalf of your parents).
I also got into similar trouble at the same age (but for buying an illegal weapon on a school exchange - I just thought it looked cool). There was talk of police and suspension/expulsion. I remember being totally bewildered as to why I was in trouble as I hadn't caused anyone any harm. Fortunately for me the matter was dropped.
However, I can imagine committing suicide in if I was in that boy's place. At 13/14, everything is the end of the world. If a girl doesn't want to go out with you it's the end of the world. If you fail your exams it's the end of the world. If I received that maximum suspension time and there was heavy-handed talk of going to jail (especially with Hollywood portrayals of brutality in jails) then I would have seriously considered 'opting-out'.
And contrary to many other comments on here, I don't believe you have to be 'unstable' to commit suicide. Even since a kid, I've always believed I own the rights to my life and it is up to me if I decide to take it away. I don't believe in any god or after-life, but I do believe I have a simple logical choice: whether to take that option and if I do then when.
Anyway, I feel sorry for the family of the child. Through no fault of their own, it sounds like they really send their child to the wrong school. Instead of the teachers trying to channel a teenagers natural mischief into something productive, it seems this school neglects its responsibilities to the child and merely tries to eliminate 'troublemakers' (succeeding quite literally in this case).
A lot of people want to stream live video. The problem with MPEG4 (Dixv, OpenDivx, WMA8, etc) is that the compression is awfully processor intensive. Try encoding into one of those formats on your machine and see how many fps you get. Now when our graphics cards can do on-the-fly MPEG4 compression...
Right, two can play at this game. I am in the middle of launching a company that handles press releases online. You should take a look at Presscentre.net. The idea behind it was that all the "What's New" type programs on Freshmeat were far too limited and I wanted to provide a service where the small guys could compete with the big guys in PR for a fraction of the price. In fact, it's more feature packed that most press systems you will find on large corporate sites. It will plug into any web site and takes around 10 mins to set up (excluding any graphics design). All for around $2560 per year. Take a look. (note: this provides features for your web site, we do *not* spam journalists though an opt-in feature for journalists is being provided)
On another note, I also write for Future Energies (a non-profit magazine promoting renewable energy) and normally automatically bin press releases except... when (a) they are genuinely newsworthy and (b) they are already written in the form of an article, don't fawn over the originator, hence require little editing to post.
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To whoever accused the phrase "final say" as dictatorial, in a large software project someone HAS to have final say or the project will never move forwards. I think one of the key points is that if he is doing it out of love then no-one has the right to appoint himself his 'boss' and tell him how to run his hobby. I have never met RMS, but he never seems to amaze me in the way he finds the energy to persue both worthy and lost causes like a terrier. Nobody is going to say GNU/Linux. Ever. Why can't he instead channel that energy into his political career?
Phillip.
The Bravo channel do a series called "Mercenaries" here in the UK (Sat 8.30pm) which pit teams playing war games against each other. I allowed myself to be dragged into one episode so that I could kick CounterStrike butt on telly. They play a lot of new games that are coming out, as well as the established favourites, which is how I presume they make some money out of it. It would be nice to see a CS World Championship on TV where the top clans play each other, with slots where the top players give hints on what give them the edge.
Phillip.
There is a good definition here in the Skeptics Dictionary, though there are some funny RL examples here.
Phillip.
Considering the number of Simpsons fans here, maybe be it should have been DUF (Declination, Unmasking, Food) which is also reverse of FUD...
Phillip.
Change the name to MP5. That way people won't think of changing file format, they will naturally want to upgrade their file format. Think of Thompson and MP3-Pro... Also if you get file sharing software to pattern match music to .mp* instead of .mp3 the files will start to be shared a lot more quickly. Finally a relaunch under a different name will give excellent press release opportunities.
Phillip.
They take and they add. KDE has a launch button and task bar, made famous by Win95
Made famous in the USA maybe, but the task bar was made famous in every British school by RiscOS circa 1989. Though the RiscOS taskbar was actually functional and not just a glorified on-screen version of Alt-Tab.
Phillip.
The article is correct, solar wind is a stream of protons not photons.
Phillip.
Korel Draw should be free of any legal issues... If you want to jump on buzzword bandwagon, then SVGK? Others: CirKle, Kalligraphy, ArtKompanion, BrushstroKe, DrawBespoKe, Kontemporary, LandsKape, um those off top of head. Sure others can think of more.
Phillip.
Wasn't the phrase "a solution looking for an application" most famously applied to the laser? You are now most probably reading this article on an OS installed off CD-Rom.
Phillip.
Though they give running of a solar cell as an example, it can be a hybrid of many types of renewable energy. Wind, biomass (extracting oil from plants to power generator), etc. You can read more about what's going on in the world at Future Energies.
Phillip.
The amount of times I've had apps go haywire and had to reset due to the OS using CMT is rather silly.
You must have been running a dodgy 3rd party patch. I used RiscOS for years and it was rock solid. I used to leave my computer permanently on and can't remember ever having to do a reset. With a StrongARM the computer boots in under a second anyway.
How can an OS with CMT, no memory protection and uses kernel modules for libraries be considered reliable at anything other than mundane stuff?
True... and about 99% of computer use is for mundane stuff. I've used RiscOS as a web server without any problems, but I certainly wouldn't use it in production! But then why would I? Linux does the job great. However RiscOS blows Linux, Mac and Windows out of the water as a desktop machine. This is good for me because it gives me a competative edge over those having to use other OS.
RiscOS is also a joy to program. You can knock up a MT windowed application in an hour in BASIC, and when it runs (interpreted) it's lightening fast. Incredible. Programming assembler for the ARM is so easy too. The way it's so modular, you can change any aspect of the OS you like despite the fact it's not Open Source. The elegance of the architecture, it's ease of use... oh don't get me started or I'll go on for hours. RiscOS seriously rocks.
Phillip.
I guess Bush has watched Armageddon one too many times. Trying to reverse the effects of long-term damage to our planet when disaster actually strikes would be like trying to get an oil tanker at full speed to do a hand-brake turn. But I guess old coyboy Bush will just send up Bruce Willis to nuke a passing frozen comet over our atmosphere.
Check out Future Energies - the practical way to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
Phillip.
In the UK, Newham council estate have 144 CCTV cameras linked to face recognition. This is in turn linked to a database of a police supplied 'watch-list' so that they can be tracked as they walk around. You worry about being spied upon when walking into a Superbowl game? Soon we won't be able to walk around our own neighbourhood without the Government knowing exactly where we are at all times. And all this without putting GPS into our mobile phones and our cars.
:-(
No hiding online either. UK ISPs are going to have to store 7 years of traffic, and the Government already have state access to decryption keys. Our current government has been working for years to turn the United Kingdom into one of the most oppressive Big Brother states
Phillip.
My Sony Z5 mobile has a version of Internet Explorer embedded in it, and is a full web browser not some WAP display device.
Phillip.
MP3 is just a shorthand way of saying MPEG-1 Layer 3, so it's not a trademark. Why not call Ogg Vorbis MP5? This makes it sound like an obvious upgrade.
Phillip.
... that Cable Modem users need to learn about firewalls to stop themselves from being willing *participants* in a DDoS attack rather than being a victim?
Phillip.
I think you'll find that's wrong. VISA recently released a statistic that ecommerce accounted for 4% of transactions but 50% of fraud. Some mentions are here and here etc. Take for example CD Universe having 350,000 credit card details stolen as told here... how many can a waiter copy down?
You are reimbursed both online and offline to the tune of $50 (£50 in UK) for now, but credit card companies aren't charities. The costs *will* be passed on.
In the offline world fraud is less common because in transactions with non-reputable parties you usually use cash (if you are sensible). This new scheme is there to provide you with the equivalent service. I'm all in favour of the digital equivalent of cash, and will be watching this new scheme with interest!
Phillip.
I'll stick with my creditcard though. Unsafe? I doubt it, I've been using it on-line for six years now and I have not encountered any false transaction yet. There's a bigger chance that some vague waiter at the restaurant copies your details when your card is out of sight than a cracker decrypting your SSL connection or breaking into your favourite e-shop.
Please, there have been innumerable cases of credit card databases being stolen and that's just the cases we've found out about (so no more over-abused waiter myth). The real reason credit cards are safe is that the credit card companies will reimburse you if the card has been used fraudulently. On the other hand this gives you zero privacy. The death of cash will be a great loss and so this new scheme sounds great and worth supporting.
Phillip.
Take a look at Future Energies. Their top article is "First Public biodiesel pumps open" which has happened in San Francisco. Lots of other articles there about fuel cell cars, electric cars, etc.
Phillip.
We ran this story in February in Future Energies (which in turn we picked up on from Salt Lake Tribune), and we were also excited about the possible power savings. We know that in conventional grid it's around 20%. When carrying the AC current there will be losses by motion of magnetic flux though the superconductor. Can anyone tell us what the losses will be through the superconducting cable?
Phillip.
You can see a breakdown of the new budget for renewable energy here. Funding for solar has been cut 49%, as has wind power.
At the same time, Bush plans to build 1,300 new power stations whilst opening the Alaska wildlife reserve for oil exploration.
Does anyone else feel Bush was voted in the wrong decade?
Phillip.
No one can get a recognized blackbelt in Taekwondo below 18, unless it's just a pre-approved(Read: pseudo) blackbelt given by his trainer for his good work. But it's not a real blackbelt.
In your club maybe, but I received a black belt Tae Kwon Do at exactly the same age as this kid. I went to the same official gradings as everyone else, and had to perform the same sparring, patterns and breaking as any adult had to.
I also had a lot else in common, such computers being my primary interest. I used to hack into the school system, along with one of my best friends. I never really knew why I was doing it, there was no need as I had a computer at home, but I was just curious and wanted to see how far I could get.
Kids don't worry about breaking rules at that age, apart from the obvious killing and stealing the whole concept of 'illegal' is abstract - what matters is what your parents will tell you off for (and police only 'spy on you' on behalf of your parents).
I also got into similar trouble at the same age (but for buying an illegal weapon on a school exchange - I just thought it looked cool). There was talk of police and suspension/expulsion. I remember being totally bewildered as to why I was in trouble as I hadn't caused anyone any harm. Fortunately for me the matter was dropped.
However, I can imagine committing suicide in if I was in that boy's place. At 13/14, everything is the end of the world. If a girl doesn't want to go out with you it's the end of the world. If you fail your exams it's the end of the world. If I received that maximum suspension time and there was heavy-handed talk of going to jail (especially with Hollywood portrayals of brutality in jails) then I would have seriously considered 'opting-out'.
And contrary to many other comments on here, I don't believe you have to be 'unstable' to commit suicide. Even since a kid, I've always believed I own the rights to my life and it is up to me if I decide to take it away. I don't believe in any god or after-life, but I do believe I have a simple logical choice: whether to take that option and if I do then when.
Anyway, I feel sorry for the family of the child. Through no fault of their own, it sounds like they really send their child to the wrong school. Instead of the teachers trying to channel a teenagers natural mischief into something productive, it seems this school neglects its responsibilities to the child and merely tries to eliminate 'troublemakers' (succeeding quite literally in this case).
Phillip.
A lot of people want to stream live video. The problem with MPEG4 (Dixv, OpenDivx, WMA8, etc) is that the compression is awfully processor intensive. Try encoding into one of those formats on your machine and see how many fps you get. Now when our graphics cards can do on-the-fly MPEG4 compression...
Phillip.
Solar works fine in England, even when travelling by boat or car. Cloud cover cuts off far less solar power than you might imagine.
Phillip.
Right, two can play at this game. I am in the middle of launching a company that handles press releases online. You should take a look at Presscentre.net. The idea behind it was that all the "What's New" type programs on Freshmeat were far too limited and I wanted to provide a service where the small guys could compete with the big guys in PR for a fraction of the price. In fact, it's more feature packed that most press systems you will find on large corporate sites. It will plug into any web site and takes around 10 mins to set up (excluding any graphics design). All for around $2560 per year. Take a look. (note: this provides features for your web site, we do *not* spam journalists though an opt-in feature for journalists is being provided)
On another note, I also write for Future Energies (a non-profit magazine promoting renewable energy) and normally automatically bin press releases except... when (a) they are genuinely newsworthy and (b) they are already written in the form of an article, don't fawn over the originator, hence require little editing to post.
Phillip.