IIRC, the tester was to simulatanously query (remotely) a human and a computer at the same time (not necessarily with the same questions), in order to compare the types of responses, and then decide which was the real human. You don't just use one tester, you use many - a successful chatbot would cause the testers to err about 50% of the time.
jmstriegel: no, really. I'm quite human.
jmstriegel: test me if you want
shymuffin32: ok
shymuffin32: why do you like music?
jmstriegel: hmm. i've never really considered that.
jmstriegel: hell, i'm not going to be able to contrive a good answer for that one. ask me something else.
shymuffin32: jeesus, you're worse than eliza
It's not him that's stupid (as claimed elsewhere), it's these shymuffin32 morons.
"Microsoft could put capabilities within their XML Office suite right now to open, save and manipulate OpenDocument formats. It is certainly something they could do."
Microsoft's excuse (claiming the format doesn't support this-and-that, breaks backward compatibility yadda yadda) is, quite frankly, lame. Don't they see they are shooting themselves in the foot?
That's an interesting point, but I don't think we're there yet. After all, it's not like I can't buy a new car with cash. Eyebrows may be raised, but it is still perfectly possible. And don't forget the trusty chequebook!
I don't see credit cards as being the mark, name or number of the name of the beast just yet. For me, national ID cards - such as the ones being proposed in the UK - could come a little closer.
Just out of interest, someone once told me that the number 666 was arrived at thus: that nasty man Emperor Nero (once known as Domitius) was very much hated by Christians of the time, and they pictured him being crucified with the letters "DCLXVI" above his head (just as Christ had "INRI" - Iesus Nazareus Rex Iudaeorum). I forget what the DCLXVI stood for (DC = Domitius Caesar I guess), but obviously it is 666 in Roman numerals.
I think this all came from the book "The White Goddess" by Robert Graves but it was a very long time ago...
From an evolutionary perspective, I think that if someone is the kind of human who goes around losing vital body parts (e.g. reproductive organs) they are a probably a wasteful burden on the species who should probably not be permitted to reproduce:-)
Seriously, though, there could be many reasons why an organism would "lose" the ability to regenerate, I suppose: perhaps it leads to an increases probability of developing tumours, or perhaps it is simply too energetically costly to benefit the species in the long run.
Perhaps they could intercept your mail, obtain your PIN, place the letter back in your mailbox (so you have no reason to be on your guard or change your PIN), follow you carefully into town, steal your wallet (maybe without you knowing, but a simple mugging would do)...
Far fetched? Depends on whether this little security hole becomes well known in the wrong circles. Also, where I work the same kind of system is use to protect wage-slips - which have employee payroll numbers, bank details, social security numbers etc. on, so there is potentially a broader problem here. Think I might have a word with my manager....
While Vulcan and Hephaestus were gods of the earth and of volcanoes, they were only minor characters in the Olympian pantheon
Sorry to be a pedantic bore, but Vulcan was a Roman god, and not of the Olympian pantheon;^) - also I don't think Vulcan was crippled like Hephaestus, but I'm not 100% sure on that one. Does this put him back in the frame...?
Sorry for replying so late. You are correct, of course. I was a bit rash in saying "viruses spread under their own steam". I guess I had in mind the fact that they spread without requiring the host's consent.
This puts a strain on the agencies to ensure that solid intel can not be assembled from less potent information
It doesn't even need to be solid, if you're a blackmailer or social engineer - just enough to be damning/interesting/scary or enough to let you "talk the talk" when posing as a government official working on some project or other.
Of course you still can use the traditional invite system...
I think someone further up pointed out that the invite systen is all well and good, if you have a friend with gmail. This opens the door for many more people, while making a reasonable attempt to ensure that real humans are requesting the accounts.
You could simply view with threshold = 0. Then you don't have to read this rubbish, once it has been moderated. Any modification to the moderation system itself won't prevent us from having to read it before it gets moderated, so I think we should leave that aspect of the system as it is.
In terms of preventing it from appearing in the first place, maybe we need some kind of spam-filter, which flags dubious messages for the editors' attention. Until it has been checked out, it doesn't appear in the comments list.
Real viruses spread under their own steam, by moving between vulnerable people. Viral marketing spreads awareness of a product by "seeding" carefully chosen forums/blogs with the info, and letting readers spread the hype. Although some readers are quite able to exercise free will and keep quiet (analogous to people with high resistance to a virus), sufficiently many do not and act as vectors for the info. The viral analogy isn't perfect, but then the analogy between "memes" and "genes" is about as good...
They are exploiting sites (such as Slashdot) to raise awareness of the film, through word of mouth and such like. We are the ones doing the "viral marketing", simply by having this discussion...
My optical mouse can certainly follow my hand movements just fine
Don't know about you, but my optical mouse tracking is quite poor on plain white paper. Maybe this is (partly) why they needed invisible markers. Obviously, the fact they can charge a premium for the stuff is an added bonus (for them). Hmm... I wonder how long it will be before someone tries to undercut them, as happened with Epson's ink?
Another option, I suppose, is to get some of this paper and laminate it, so that you can wipe it clean and use it again:-)
Spending hours learning Premiere when you could be, say, reading Shakespeare is when it gets irritating...
I had in mind an elective video production course, which could cover the basics of planning a production, storyboarding, shooting, editing and so on. Maybe incorporate some more theoretical material later in the course, too. I like your idea about splitting the day up into "core" vs. "optional" courses - although I think it would be good to make sure everyone takes enough "optional" courses, rather than just go home early every day. It shouldn't be a problem, provided there is a large variety available. Just out of interest, what should the core material include?
I would think, for an English-speaking school, with students up to 16 years old: English (language + literature), Mathematics, Science (methodology, key theories/experiments), History, Geography and IT (basic computer literacy). Advanced versions of these courses should be available for those who'd like to learn more, in addition to the "optional" couses (video production etc...). Any thoughts?
It's usually when the English teacher tries to haphazardly integrate video production into an English class rather than convey why the course material is really cool that things fall apart...
In my old school, the Science dept. was guilty of this. It came across (even at the time) as a bored teacher with no lesson plan desperately trying to keep the students occupied. My favourite, I think, was the Human Reproductive System video we watched when I was 13 - which did a very poor job of concealing the red face of the "teacher" (primary objective failed) and taught us nothing (secondary objective failed). Ah, the good old days...
Slashdot Mirror
IIRC, the tester was to simulatanously query (remotely) a human and a computer at the same time (not necessarily with the same questions), in order to compare the types of responses, and then decide which was the real human. You don't just use one tester, you use many - a successful chatbot would cause the testers to err about 50% of the time.
Obviously a moderator here has never used chatbots.
My favourite snippet has to be:
jmstriegel: no, really. I'm quite human.jmstriegel: test me if you want
shymuffin32: ok
shymuffin32: why do you like music?
jmstriegel: hmm. i've never really considered that.
jmstriegel: hell, i'm not going to be able to contrive a good answer for that one. ask me something else.
shymuffin32: jeesus, you're worse than eliza
It's not him that's stupid (as claimed elsewhere), it's these shymuffin32 morons.
Kriss made the same point in a previous interview:
"Microsoft could put capabilities within their XML Office suite right now to open, save and manipulate OpenDocument formats. It is certainly something they could do."
Microsoft's excuse (claiming the format doesn't support this-and-that, breaks backward compatibility yadda yadda) is, quite frankly, lame. Don't they see they are shooting themselves in the foot?
That's an interesting point, but I don't think we're there yet. After all, it's not like I can't buy a new car with cash. Eyebrows may be raised, but it is still perfectly possible. And don't forget the trusty chequebook!
I don't see credit cards as being the mark, name or number of the name of the beast just yet. For me, national ID cards - such as the ones being proposed in the UK - could come a little closer.
Just out of interest, someone once told me that the number 666 was arrived at thus: that nasty man Emperor Nero (once known as Domitius) was very much hated by Christians of the time, and they pictured him being crucified with the letters "DCLXVI" above his head (just as Christ had "INRI" - Iesus Nazareus Rex Iudaeorum). I forget what the DCLXVI stood for (DC = Domitius Caesar I guess), but obviously it is 666 in Roman numerals. I think this all came from the book "The White Goddess" by Robert Graves but it was a very long time ago ...
2) Microsoft are liable for writing an OS that they KNEW would enable virus writers to propogate
Windows increases fertility?
From an evolutionary perspective, I think that if someone is the kind of human who goes around losing vital body parts (e.g. reproductive organs) they are a probably a wasteful burden on the species who should probably not be permitted to reproduce :-)
Seriously, though, there could be many reasons why an organism would "lose" the ability to regenerate, I suppose: perhaps it leads to an increases probability of developing tumours, or perhaps it is simply too energetically costly to benefit the species in the long run.
You haven't read the Guide?
Perhaps they could intercept your mail, obtain your PIN, place the letter back in your mailbox (so you have no reason to be on your guard or change your PIN), follow you carefully into town, steal your wallet (maybe without you knowing, but a simple mugging would do) ...
Far fetched? Depends on whether this little security hole becomes well known in the wrong circles. Also, where I work the same kind of system is use to protect wage-slips - which have employee payroll numbers, bank details, social security numbers etc. on, so there is potentially a broader problem here. Think I might have a word with my manager....
While Vulcan and Hephaestus were gods of the earth and of volcanoes, they were only minor characters in the Olympian pantheon
Sorry to be a pedantic bore, but Vulcan was a Roman god, and not of the Olympian pantheon ;^) - also I don't think Vulcan was crippled like Hephaestus, but I'm not 100% sure on that one. Does this put him back in the frame ...?
... No! I've just found out that he lives in Birmingham, Alabama, under constant supervision - so he has an alibi.
Sorry for replying so late. You are correct, of course. I was a bit rash in saying "viruses spread under their own steam". I guess I had in mind the fact that they spread without requiring the host's consent.
This puts a strain on the agencies to ensure that solid intel can not be assembled from less potent information
It doesn't even need to be solid, if you're a blackmailer or social engineer - just enough to be damning/interesting/scary or enough to let you "talk the talk" when posing as a government official working on some project or other.
Of course you still can use the traditional invite system...
I think someone further up pointed out that the invite systen is all well and good, if you have a friend with gmail. This opens the door for many more people, while making a reasonable attempt to ensure that real humans are requesting the accounts.
You could simply view with threshold = 0. Then you don't have to read this rubbish, once it has been moderated. Any modification to the moderation system itself won't prevent us from having to read it before it gets moderated, so I think we should leave that aspect of the system as it is.
In terms of preventing it from appearing in the first place, maybe we need some kind of spam-filter, which flags dubious messages for the editors' attention. Until it has been checked out, it doesn't appear in the comments list.
Don't forget donkeys' years... :-)
Sure I know, I was just being pedantic. Slashdot and all that...
Real viruses spread under their own steam, by moving between vulnerable people. Viral marketing spreads awareness of a product by "seeding" carefully chosen forums/blogs with the info, and letting readers spread the hype. Although some readers are quite able to exercise free will and keep quiet (analogous to people with high resistance to a virus), sufficiently many do not and act as vectors for the info. The viral analogy isn't perfect, but then the analogy between "memes" and "genes" is about as good...
What's your point? Why is viral marketing bad...
Sorry, but I think you're putting words in my mouth there. I was just trying to explain to GP what viral marketing is, not pass judgement ;^)
They are exploiting sites (such as Slashdot) to raise awareness of the film, through word of mouth and such like. We are the ones doing the "viral marketing", simply by having this discussion...
It'll never work: wipe-clean paper would decimate their revenue.
My optical mouse can certainly follow my hand movements just fine
Don't know about you, but my optical mouse tracking is quite poor on plain white paper. Maybe this is (partly) why they needed invisible markers. Obviously, the fact they can charge a premium for the stuff is an added bonus (for them). Hmm... I wonder how long it will be before someone tries to undercut them, as happened with Epson's ink?
Another option, I suppose, is to get some of this paper and laminate it, so that you can wipe it clean and use it again :-)
Wouldn't you encounter tracking problems when lifting the pen from the normal paper?
No, it would be 'writeright' - right?
When you extract energy from your lithium-ion battery, the mass remains the same
No - if E is the electrical energy extracted, minus the increase in thermal energy, then the mass of the battery drops by E/(c^2).
Chemical energy (i.e. potential energy) contributes towards total mass just the same as every other form of energy.
Spending hours learning Premiere when you could be, say, reading Shakespeare is when it gets irritating...
I had in mind an elective video production course, which could cover the basics of planning a production, storyboarding, shooting, editing and so on. Maybe incorporate some more theoretical material later in the course, too. I like your idea about splitting the day up into "core" vs. "optional" courses - although I think it would be good to make sure everyone takes enough "optional" courses, rather than just go home early every day. It shouldn't be a problem, provided there is a large variety available. Just out of interest, what should the core material include? I would think, for an English-speaking school, with students up to 16 years old: English (language + literature), Mathematics, Science (methodology, key theories/experiments), History, Geography and IT (basic computer literacy). Advanced versions of these courses should be available for those who'd like to learn more, in addition to the "optional" couses (video production etc...). Any thoughts?
It's usually when the English teacher tries to haphazardly integrate video production into an English class rather than convey why the course material is really cool that things fall apart...
In my old school, the Science dept. was guilty of this. It came across (even at the time) as a bored teacher with no lesson plan desperately trying to keep the students occupied. My favourite, I think, was the Human Reproductive System video we watched when I was 13 - which did a very poor job of concealing the red face of the "teacher" (primary objective failed) and taught us nothing (secondary objective failed). Ah, the good old days...