The problem with bitcoin, as with any other form of money, is that people have to trust it as a store of value. Most people who look at this aren't going to understand how it works, and if they don't understand it, they probably won't trust it.
People (most of us, at least) trust all sort of things they don't understand. From social networks to reports on WMDs. And in this case, I think, most people would understand, if you tell them they are like checks... you can write as many of them as you want, but only those that don't overdraw your account will clear.
[...], so we end up with a bunch of liberal arts major and other degrees which won't be socially useful.
I am not very well informed about the US educational system, but what's with all those prejudices against liberal arts majors? Not socially useful? Another poster said something about them not curing cancer... yes, probably true, but that doesn't make them less necessary, I would think.
It's $5500 per student: 5000 for the student plus 500 for the mentor. TFA does not consider that some students may drop out, so they don't actually know yet how much the average student will get.
Presumably you also have a desktop or laptop, or even both. If you are not carrying the tablet around, why do you need it? At home/work you could simply use a desktop. Don't take this personally, I just often see people owning 4, 5 or more computing devices, and can't imagine the purpose of it. I personally only own a desktop and a "dumb" phone. If I was to get any other it better replace at least one of the things I own. Not so much because of the cost, but because I can't look at more than one screen at once, anyway.
Programmers use open source tools because they're good and they're free, no one uses work time to modify programming tools because it's not cost effective or sane.
The reason OSS programming tools are good is because some programmers *do* modify them. Compare to other software "niches": There isn't any, as far as I know, where OSS so clearly beats proprietary software. In some OSS is catching up, though.
So why not try something else? Give them the tools to make their lives better on their own terms, rather than just trying to hand them the solution to their problems.
I can't help but thinking that this equipment would just be stolen by the guys with guns though[...]
The solution? Include a plan for a rifle, of course! Joke aside, it would be more realistic than 3D printers, scanners & laser cutters.
Like one of the misinformed people who are afraid to work on their cars 12v system because it can push "1000 amps OMG!". Just a clear misunderstanding of how electricity works.
The danger is not of electrocution, but in the sparks it can generate, combined with gas leaks or hydrogen buildup. That is not considering batteries are full of Lead and H2SO4, of course.
According to that same link, US military spending accounts for 40% of worldwide military budget. Fourty percent! China 7%, and all other "powers" 2-4%, each.
I think more than a protocol it will be a set of ad-hoc protocols, a large collection of different open ways to tie your email(s) to your image hosting (flickr, picasa) to your blog to your wiki to your slashdot account to your music (myspace could fill that role!) to other social stuff. Networks will grow organically around it without a central defined protocol or website. Some content maybe local, some hosted by others, but as it get's more refined it won't matter. Mostly it wil be web-based, but not exclusively. A web upon the web.
Then, facebook's monolithic nature will be its decline. Unless it adapts & opens up.
The OP said D was backwards compatible with C. (not C++, though) If that is true, it would have access to more libraries than (almost) anyone could ever need.
1) The temperature of the upper mantle, near the boundary with the crust, is in the neighborhood of 750C/1400F.
TFA talks about 300C, and says that could be a problem. They don't say what their estimations of pressure are, but I think at that temperature, whatever rock they reach, is definitely going to be solid.
I am not an expert, but wouldn't it take a long time to raise through the thin borehole and rather become some sort of intrusive mafic rock, gabbro, perhaps? I understand most of the oceanic crust is composed of that igneous rock.
Well, why isn't it protected from high impact space-based kinetic kill vehicles too? You can't explain that!
[...] but protecting a plant from a 9.5+tsunami, you might as well ask for a pony.
Basic difference between those two situations: one isn't expected to happen and is in fact very unlikely, the other (quakes of Mw >= 9.0 and tsunami) has happened before and we know it will happen again. We don't know when, we don't know exactly how often, but it *will* happen.
9.5 may be a tad high, but I understand the plant was designed to resist quakes of magnitude up to 7.9, which is way too low.
However, there's statistically only one of them a year, worldwide. I'm not sure what the chances are that they would hit locally in various places, even on fault lines.
Ok. So it may not be Japan next year, but Alaska or California, Sumatra (again), Java, Ecuador, or Chile (who are thinking of building some plants, too).
So, presumably, to protect against an 8.9, all they needed to do is manage to protect the backup generators better from a tsunami. That should be doable, I would think. [...] The reason that no one prepares for these things is pretty simple. Cost.
I am not an expert, but seemingly newer reactor designs wouldn't even need backup power, cooling agents being moved by gravity alone. This doesn't sound *that* expensive to implement.
A 9.0 quake is rare and very, very powerful. Even in Japan, you could go decades, even centuries between them.
Once a year is not that rare... And, yes, probably it will be a 100 years before that particular segment of subduction zone is activated again, but there are plenty more stations in seismically active places.
[...] how well nuclear safety engineers are doing: despite two disasters which were both literally ten times worse than they were ordered to prepare for.
And that is what we should be questioning, I think. Why weren't the plants designed to withstand a Mw 9.5 earthquake plus tsunami and fire? We know that happens, sooner or later*, and the risks are just to high to gamble on the possibility of those events not happening at a particular location during the lifetime of the plant. Better be on the safe side with such things.
Ok. Thanks a lot. Yes, I am using AGP, and an 8 year old video card. Didn't think that would matter for relatively simple games. In fact, I have run games that at least *look* more demanding with no problems. (e.g. Neverwinter Nights) Probably more a game-specific functionality, rather than SDL, given that other SDL-based games and apps work. I'll try the games on a laptop sometime, or maybe get a newer card. Would still have to be AGP. Thanks again.
Debian testing. My hardware isn't the newest (Dual opterons, legacy NVIDIA graphics running the propietary driver v96) but these are 2D games, not too fancy graphic requierements, I would expect.
I have seemingly different problems but mostly related to graphics:
Braid: "Missing required OpenGL extension" Machinarium: when dragging items, mouse lag of about 5 seconds. Osmos: No error message, upon start only see blue and white squares rotating randomly.
Gish: Graphics seem a little odd, some menus are missing background images, but mostly character dies (I think--screen flashes red) inmediatly after starting the game (any mode).
Also, Titans only works windowed.
In time some of them will work, I think, I just haven't really invested time (except in Gish), but it just annoys me that commercial games run (in average) worse than many open source/free alternatives, or require more time to set up.
I also thought Cortex Command looked promising. Haven't played enough to comment.
Yes, you are right. But seems the problem is with the datafiles, which aren't open, I think. I tested the version from the git repositories "freegish", which comes with user-made data, and it worked. The graphics don't amount to much more than placeholders, though.
HIB #2 isn't much better, of the 5 games only two work for me so far: precisely the two that are supposed to be in "beta": Cortex Command and Revenge of the Titans. A pity, really wanted to try Osmos.
I guess I'll go back to OSS games and running old DOS games in emulators.
Slashdot Mirror
The problem with bitcoin, as with any other form of money, is that people have to trust it as a store of value. Most people who look at this aren't going to understand how it works, and if they don't understand it, they probably won't trust it.
People (most of us, at least) trust all sort of things they don't understand. From social networks to reports on WMDs. And in this case, I think, most people would understand, if you tell them they are like checks... you can write as many of them as you want, but only those that don't overdraw your account will clear.
Is silver bad when it gets inside of you?
Bad? Not exactly
And the summary forgot to include that the test flight is today ?
Supposedly... don't have silverlight.
Press release
[...], so we end up with a bunch of liberal arts major and other degrees which won't be socially useful.
I am not very well informed about the US educational system, but what's with all those prejudices against liberal arts majors? Not socially useful? Another poster said something about them not curing cancer... yes, probably true, but that doesn't make them less necessary, I would think.
The stipend averages out to $5376 per student,
It's $5500 per student: 5000 for the student plus 500 for the mentor. TFA does not consider that some students may drop out, so they don't actually know yet how much the average student will get.
Presumably you also have a desktop or laptop, or even both. If you are not carrying the tablet around, why do you need it? At home/work you could simply use a desktop.
Don't take this personally, I just often see people owning 4, 5 or more computing devices, and can't imagine the purpose of it.
I personally only own a desktop and a "dumb" phone. If I was to get any other it better replace at least one of the things I own. Not so much because of the cost, but because I can't look at more than one screen at once, anyway.
Programmers use open source tools because they're good and they're free, no one uses work time to modify programming tools because it's not cost effective or sane.
The reason OSS programming tools are good is because some programmers *do* modify them. Compare to other software "niches": There isn't any, as far as I know, where OSS so clearly beats proprietary software. In some OSS is catching up, though.
So why not try something else? Give them the tools to make their lives better on their own terms, rather than just trying to hand them the solution to their problems.
I can't help but thinking that this equipment would just be stolen by the guys with guns though[...]
The solution? Include a plan for a rifle, of course!
Joke aside, it would be more realistic than 3D printers, scanners & laser cutters.
Like one of the misinformed people who are afraid to work on their cars 12v system because it can push "1000 amps OMG!". Just a clear misunderstanding of how electricity works.
The danger is not of electrocution, but in the sparks it can generate, combined with gas leaks or hydrogen buildup.
That is not considering batteries are full of Lead and H2SO4, of course.
According to that same link, US military spending accounts for 40% of worldwide military budget. Fourty percent!
China 7%, and all other "powers" 2-4%, each.
You are not the only one.
I am using that effect for my next (and first) webdesign. If they didn't already patent it, that is.
I think more than a protocol it will be a set of ad-hoc protocols, a large collection of different open ways to tie your email(s) to your image hosting (flickr, picasa) to your blog to your wiki to your slashdot account to your music (myspace could fill that role!) to other social stuff. Networks will grow organically around it without a central defined protocol or website. Some content maybe local, some hosted by others, but as it get's more refined it won't matter. Mostly it wil be web-based, but not exclusively.
A web upon the web.
Then, facebook's monolithic nature will be its decline. Unless it adapts & opens up.
The OP said D was backwards compatible with C. (not C++, though) If that is true, it would have access to more libraries than (almost) anyone could ever need.
1) The temperature of the upper mantle, near the boundary with the crust, is in the neighborhood of 750C/1400F.
TFA talks about 300C, and says that could be a problem. They don't say what their estimations of pressure are, but I think at that temperature, whatever rock they reach, is definitely going to be solid.
I am not an expert, but wouldn't it take a long time to raise through the thin borehole and rather become some sort of intrusive mafic rock, gabbro, perhaps? I understand most of the oceanic crust is composed of that igneous rock.
Most productive place near my town is called "Post Office" and is somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Weird.
Exactly. Notice how Europeans always get sarcasm? Must be their superior education system. I bet Norwegians are masters at it.
Well, why isn't it protected from high impact space-based kinetic kill vehicles too? You can't explain that!
[...] but protecting a plant from a 9.5+tsunami, you might as well ask for a pony.
Basic difference between those two situations: one isn't expected to happen and is in fact very unlikely, the other (quakes of Mw >= 9.0 and tsunami) has happened before and we know it will happen again. We don't know when, we don't know exactly how often, but it *will* happen.
9.5 may be a tad high, but I understand the plant was designed to resist quakes of magnitude up to 7.9, which is way too low.
no simple starquake should be able to crack it
Exactly. The price to pay for an accident is way to high.
I understand cost is a factor, but a passive cooling solution for emergencies can't be that more expensive!
However, there's statistically only one of them a year, worldwide. I'm not sure what the chances are that they would hit locally in various places, even on fault lines.
Ok. So it may not be Japan next year, but Alaska or California, Sumatra (again), Java, Ecuador, or Chile (who are thinking of building some plants, too).
So, presumably, to protect against an 8.9, all they needed to do is manage to protect the backup generators better from a tsunami. That should be doable, I would think. [...] The reason that no one prepares for these things is pretty simple. Cost.
I am not an expert, but seemingly newer reactor designs wouldn't even need backup power, cooling agents being moved by gravity alone. This doesn't sound *that* expensive to implement.
A 9.0 quake is rare and very, very powerful. Even in Japan, you could go decades, even centuries between them.
Once a year is not that rare... And, yes, probably it will be a 100 years before that particular segment of subduction zone is activated again, but there are plenty more stations in seismically active places.
[...] how well nuclear safety engineers are doing: despite two disasters which were both literally ten times worse than they were ordered to prepare for.
And that is what we should be questioning, I think. Why weren't the plants designed to withstand a Mw 9.5 earthquake plus tsunami and fire? We know that happens, sooner or later*, and the risks are just to high to gamble on the possibility of those events not happening at a particular location during the lifetime of the plant. Better be on the safe side with such things.
* see e.g. McCaffrey, Global frequency of magnitude 9 earthquakes, for an estimate.
How the fuck does a swimming pool have a polarity?
Exactly my thoughts.. I'll google it!
Ok. Thanks a lot.
Yes, I am using AGP, and an 8 year old video card. Didn't think that would matter for relatively simple games.
In fact, I have run games that at least *look* more demanding with no problems. (e.g. Neverwinter Nights) Probably more a game-specific functionality, rather than SDL, given that other SDL-based games and apps work.
I'll try the games on a laptop sometime, or maybe get a newer card. Would still have to be AGP.
Thanks again.
Debian testing.
My hardware isn't the newest (Dual opterons, legacy NVIDIA graphics running the propietary driver v96) but these are 2D games, not too fancy graphic requierements, I would expect.
I have seemingly different problems but mostly related to graphics:
Braid: "Missing required OpenGL extension"
Machinarium: when dragging items, mouse lag of about 5 seconds.
Osmos: No error message, upon start only see blue and white squares rotating randomly.
Gish: Graphics seem a little odd, some menus are missing background images, but mostly character dies (I think--screen flashes red) inmediatly after starting the game (any mode).
Also, Titans only works windowed.
In time some of them will work, I think, I just haven't really invested time (except in Gish), but it just annoys me that commercial games run (in average) worse than many open source/free alternatives, or require more time to set up.
I also thought Cortex Command looked promising. Haven't played enough to comment.
Yes, you are right. But seems the problem is with the datafiles, which aren't open, I think. I tested the version from the git repositories "freegish", which comes with user-made data, and it worked. The graphics don't amount to much more than placeholders, though.
HIB #2 isn't much better, of the 5 games only two work for me so far: precisely the two that are supposed to be in "beta": Cortex Command and Revenge of the Titans. A pity, really wanted to try Osmos.
I guess I'll go back to OSS games and running old DOS games in emulators.