Doesn't stability of a LaGrange point - keeping something in it - depend on the point in question? I think you have to fight drift more in L1 through L3, but not so much in L4 and L5.
It'd be neat if we could keep something in L4 or L5 of the Earth/Moon system, but I agree the costs to and from Earth or Moon are probably still too politically big...
I may be totally off on this, but wasn't the FCC going parcel up and see the bandwidth that UHF uses? Or have they already? If so, what use is this? Forgive me for being potentially totally out of it, but it is Friday...
Not broken, but then I've only had it for two months. A friend of mine who got his at pretty much the same time has had DVD drive issues - it wouldn't close due to a bracket misalignment. This issue, however, was brought on by user issues, particularly the not-so-gentle handling by his kids.
Mine is on a wood shelf and fairly well ventilated (lots of space around it). I was thinking it'd last a while if I kept it like that, but hearing what everyone is saying, maybe not...?
I agree - I think there's an increase in causal gamers.
I wonder if the increase in casual gamers is due - at least partially - to the fact many of them are getting married and having kids. Having a family - at least for me - enforces casual gaming. I can't devote hours and days of my free time to gaming any longer because I now devote that time to my wife and kids. Many of my friends who were hard-core gamers have undergone the same conversion.
On the upside, my wife has gone from non-gamer to casual gamer. I believe this is in part due to the greater availability of casual games (as someone else mentioned) like Jewel Quest, Zuma, etc. that she likes.
I like to think I may one day return to more hard-core gaming, but possibly not until the kids move out and I retire. I like to think that gaming more would be the default option since I suck at golf...
You are absolutely correct - a laptop with a web-browser does you little or no good if you can't actually reach the web. I do wonder, though, if this effort will encourage other efforts. I heard a story on NPR last night about someone who took the time to get free, wireless broadband to the community where he grew up rural West Virginia (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?stor yId=5053488).
It was an interesting story, especially when they explain how little it cost to set up or run. Is it likely this kind of thing will occur in the countries where these laptops will be distributed? Probably not as likely, but after hearing this, it seems possible to me. It would still need someone to champion the effort, like Negroponte is for the laptops.
My opinion is still that giving these countries access to information is a step in the right direction. The question still remains with access...
It did not strike me as odd. I do not know if you are right in that it is easier to get precious metals out of used electronic parts or out of the earth. It would seem cheaper to get them out of the earth to me because there is much more infrastructure to do it that way. Reclamation centers charge money because it costs them more to get the materials out than they make selling those raw materials - simple math. Whether this will always be the case, I am not sure. I am hoping their processes can only get more efficient.
That being said, it's about 35 cents a pound to do it. Not too much for a cell phone, but was quite pricy when I dropped off a 21" monitor and two computers. It is also worth mentioning that they attempt to reclaim everything: this includes metals, plastics, glass, chemical coatings, etc. Not an easy task when you consider what goes into each little electronic gadget.
Shrug - I figure it's my duty as an environmentally-aware member of society. If I have to pay a bit to properly reclaim it then maybe that'll affect my buy decision next time. Also, I'd prefer to pay a bit to make sure organizations like these stay afloat. Unfortunately, how I think is NOT how most people think. If they have to pay to reclaim it, then they'll still buy and then chuck it in the dumpster when it doesn't work any more - or even worse, when it still works, but they found something better. I wish there were laws against throwing these things into landfills - maybe there are...?
You are not the only one who feels this way. I thought the same thing immediately when I first saw the snippet describing it. The likely-hood of more high-tech trash hitting landfills only increases with the likelyhood that the unit the eventually produce will probably have to be so crappy that no one wants to keep it anyway. That or something new comes along.
I like high-tech widgets as much as the next geek, except I know where my local reclamation center is and pay by the pound to have its materials properly re-used or disposed of when I am done with it.
Here's another, and possibly relevant question: will reading Slashdot too much cause me to develop a hatred of Microsoft? Or does reading Slashdot too much cause cancer/blindness/cynicism/hair on my palms (like everything else)?
I am still on the fence as to which console to purchase. I have not special love for Microsoft but no special hatred either (except for, possibly, their marketing department). I still want to wait and see what eventually comes out (next February?) from Sony and Nintendo.
That being said, my interest is piqued. I do want a gaming console, but that it can also be a dumb terminal for other apps, possibly those I develop myself appeals to the geek/developer in me. It is also another aspect (as someone may have previously mentioned) that has wife-appeal.
Has anyone heard if Sony or Nintendo plan something similar, i.e. how much media center integration are they planning and/or are they planning something like this?
I accept this and similar problems from Microsoft (and other companies) because the interaction betwen my computer and the internet is STILL a relatively new thing. There are definitely going to be problems and its going to take a while to work them out.
How long have we had cars? How long have we had the internet - NOT, I might add, computers, or home computers? Every time someone uses the car analogy it makes me itch. Aside from the fact they are two very different concepts, car technology has been around and IN USE by many people for MUCH longer than the internet. We expect cars to be reliable because we had much longer to work out the kinks. For that matter cars did not work perfectly for the first 10 or 20 years - there were a lot of deaths while manufacturers worked out the kinks. For that matter, there are still problems we put up with (and yes, occasional deaths). The analogy just bugs me in so many ways.
Unfortunately, I don't currently have a better analogy. I might have to sound like a whiner on this one...
It sounds like they are already in the midst of replacing it - check out SpaceFlightNow. The new series is going up with the next generation in the works. Maybe it's just a matter of keeping at or above the crucial 24 limit...?
Slashdot Mirror
Doesn't stability of a LaGrange point - keeping something in it - depend on the point in question? I think you have to fight drift more in L1 through L3, but not so much in L4 and L5.
Wikipedia has some good info on stability: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagrange_point#Stability. Or listen to the AstronomyCast episode on LaGrange points: http://www.astronomycast.com/physics/ep-76-lagrange-points/. They describe L1 through L3 as trying to keep a marble on a saddle, but L4 and L5 as keeping a marble in a volcano - hard to get it up there, but somewhat stable once it's there.
It'd be neat if we could keep something in L4 or L5 of the Earth/Moon system, but I agree the costs to and from Earth or Moon are probably still too politically big...
I may be totally off on this, but wasn't the FCC going parcel up and see the bandwidth that UHF uses? Or have they already? If so, what use is this? Forgive me for being potentially totally out of it, but it is Friday...
Not broken, but then I've only had it for two months. A friend of mine who got his at pretty much the same time has had DVD drive issues - it wouldn't close due to a bracket misalignment. This issue, however, was brought on by user issues, particularly the not-so-gentle handling by his kids.
Mine is on a wood shelf and fairly well ventilated (lots of space around it). I was thinking it'd last a while if I kept it like that, but hearing what everyone is saying, maybe not...?
I agree - I think there's an increase in causal gamers. I wonder if the increase in casual gamers is due - at least partially - to the fact many of them are getting married and having kids. Having a family - at least for me - enforces casual gaming. I can't devote hours and days of my free time to gaming any longer because I now devote that time to my wife and kids. Many of my friends who were hard-core gamers have undergone the same conversion. On the upside, my wife has gone from non-gamer to casual gamer. I believe this is in part due to the greater availability of casual games (as someone else mentioned) like Jewel Quest, Zuma, etc. that she likes. I like to think I may one day return to more hard-core gaming, but possibly not until the kids move out and I retire. I like to think that gaming more would be the default option since I suck at golf...
You are absolutely correct - a laptop with a web-browser does you little or no good if you can't actually reach the web. I do wonder, though, if this effort will encourage other efforts. I heard a story on NPR last night about someone who took the time to get free, wireless broadband to the community where he grew up rural West Virginia (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?stor yId=5053488).
It was an interesting story, especially when they explain how little it cost to set up or run. Is it likely this kind of thing will occur in the countries where these laptops will be distributed? Probably not as likely, but after hearing this, it seems possible to me. It would still need someone to champion the effort, like Negroponte is for the laptops.
My opinion is still that giving these countries access to information is a step in the right direction. The question still remains with access...
Do you realize you've dated yourself by referencing a short lived TV show? Of course, so have I by knowing what you were talking about...
It did not strike me as odd. I do not know if you are right in that it is easier to get precious metals out of used electronic parts or out of the earth. It would seem cheaper to get them out of the earth to me because there is much more infrastructure to do it that way. Reclamation centers charge money because it costs them more to get the materials out than they make selling those raw materials - simple math. Whether this will always be the case, I am not sure. I am hoping their processes can only get more efficient.
That being said, it's about 35 cents a pound to do it. Not too much for a cell phone, but was quite pricy when I dropped off a 21" monitor and two computers. It is also worth mentioning that they attempt to reclaim everything: this includes metals, plastics, glass, chemical coatings, etc. Not an easy task when you consider what goes into each little electronic gadget.
Shrug - I figure it's my duty as an environmentally-aware member of society. If I have to pay a bit to properly reclaim it then maybe that'll affect my buy decision next time. Also, I'd prefer to pay a bit to make sure organizations like these stay afloat. Unfortunately, how I think is NOT how most people think. If they have to pay to reclaim it, then they'll still buy and then chuck it in the dumpster when it doesn't work any more - or even worse, when it still works, but they found something better. I wish there were laws against throwing these things into landfills - maybe there are...?
You are not the only one who feels this way. I thought the same thing immediately when I first saw the snippet describing it. The likely-hood of more high-tech trash hitting landfills only increases with the likelyhood that the unit the eventually produce will probably have to be so crappy that no one wants to keep it anyway. That or something new comes along.
I like high-tech widgets as much as the next geek, except I know where my local reclamation center is and pay by the pound to have its materials properly re-used or disposed of when I am done with it.
Does 4 months count as new? Not sure...
Here's another, and possibly relevant question: will reading Slashdot too much cause me to develop a hatred of Microsoft? Or does reading Slashdot too much cause cancer/blindness/cynicism/hair on my palms (like everything else)?
I am still on the fence as to which console to purchase. I have not special love for Microsoft but no special hatred either (except for, possibly, their marketing department). I still want to wait and see what eventually comes out (next February?) from Sony and Nintendo.
That being said, my interest is piqued. I do want a gaming console, but that it can also be a dumb terminal for other apps, possibly those I develop myself appeals to the geek/developer in me. It is also another aspect (as someone may have previously mentioned) that has wife-appeal.
Has anyone heard if Sony or Nintendo plan something similar, i.e. how much media center integration are they planning and/or are they planning something like this?
And here I thought it was just about getting free burritos...h tml
http://www.chipotle.com/email/05-booUS/boobahbee.
I accept this and similar problems from Microsoft (and other companies) because the interaction betwen my computer and the internet is STILL a relatively new thing. There are definitely going to be problems and its going to take a while to work them out.
How long have we had cars? How long have we had the internet - NOT, I might add, computers, or home computers? Every time someone uses the car analogy it makes me itch. Aside from the fact they are two very different concepts, car technology has been around and IN USE by many people for MUCH longer than the internet. We expect cars to be reliable because we had much longer to work out the kinks. For that matter cars did not work perfectly for the first 10 or 20 years - there were a lot of deaths while manufacturers worked out the kinks. For that matter, there are still problems we put up with (and yes, occasional deaths). The analogy just bugs me in so many ways.
Unfortunately, I don't currently have a better analogy. I might have to sound like a whiner on this one...
It sounds like they are already in the midst of replacing it - check out SpaceFlightNow. The new series is going up with the next generation in the works. Maybe it's just a matter of keeping at or above the crucial 24 limit...?