Sorry, I sort of asked the wrog question there. Is the student loan actually a profit making venture for anyone, or is the interest just charged at the inflation rate?
Ok, I'm not quite sure how things work in the states, I live in the UK. Do you get charged interest on the student loans? To be honest, I can see that they would be a distraction in class. For those doing a science subject, it takes more time than it's worth to work out how to input various greek/arabic symobls etc. (I actually know one students who draws small animals for variables!), or to draw diagrams. And if they care that much about having their notes in electronic form, typing them up on a desktop is excellent revision.
How much EM radiation do these devices really produce? It can't be that much.
It's obviously much greater for a mobile phone than other electronic devices, but a laptop/gaming handheld with wireless technology could still produce a significant amount.
Is the GPS system the only affected system?
Almost certainly not. I suspect GPS was mentioned because it's the only technology most readers would understand. It's not legal to navigate solely by GPS, and the modile phone ban has certainly been part of UK aviation law long before GPS navigation was common, however the air law manual still cites the reason for the ban as "interference with naviagtion equipment". Therefore I'd guess it's possible for it to interfere with at least one of VOR, VDF or DME.
Does it show an error of a dozen meters of a dozen kilometers or does it simply not work at all?
Well the accuracy of GPS is about 10-15 meters, so dozens of meters will not be a huge error relative to its unsual accuracy.
To a certain point I understand banning cell phones, but other electronic devices?
It's unlikely that other electonic devices will be banned. The aritcle stated that they can only be used once the plane has climbed to its cruising altitude. At this point the flight crew would normally be navigating along an airway using VOR, so small interferences from electronic devices should not be too serious.
Will the university be paying for these laptops if students aren't able to afford them?
Also, the decision that all students require laptops is baffling. I'm a maths with physics undergraduate and I manage perfectly well with a desktop, and to be honest, I don't think it would affect my work much if I had to do without it.
So, let's get this straight. This tax starts from the assumption that you're copying CDs? Fine, I say. I'm sure Canada has "double jeapody" clauses in it legal code, so you can't be punished again for the same crime. So, copy away. Hold a weekly session with your friends (I think this is called a "consumers' cooperative") where you get together and work out what CDs the majority of you would be willing to pay for. Split the costs, and copy them (ok, let's say we fairly share out who keeps originals).
Sorry, what's that you're saying at the back? "It's wrong"? Yeh, sure it is, and you're being punished for it already, so all's fair!
Now it's very interesting that you should mention that. I remember seeing an article several years ago, shortly after Napster was shut down, regarding a proposal to set up a peer-to-peer server on Sealand. As the internet seems likely to remain in US control, I would feel happier at times if my search engine was at sea...
Please tell me you're joking? properly implemented encryption? It was terrible, most likely MMaestro is right, there was no simply pressing need to decrypt them. If you want to know why the encryption wasn't properly implemented, I'd recommend ULTRA, or The Code Book by Simon Singh.
The Germans were over-confident to the point of incompetence with their encryption. The British certainly didn't attempt to change this, and ULTRA was only declassified in 1974, and it's likely as not that the Germans still thought their ciphers invincible at the end of the war.
Hmm, is that a serious threat though? You would need a quite competent biotech programme to produce biological weapons, and, frankly, with the state North Korea's in I doubt that they have such facilities.
Besides, with their current suspected nuclear capability, would biological weapons really be that great an advantage? Remember the DPRK regime's main concern is warding off an invasion by the US, and in such a situation a nuclear weapon is a far greater threat than any biological capability.
Is that the entire reason? My aunt works in chemical engineering, and they regularly outsource their mathematical modelling to Polish universities. It would be cheaper to employ people to do it, but they don't for the simple reason that you can't get the mathematicians/physicists in the UK.
If nothing else, this should serve as a short, sharp shock to Western governments. Why are we having to outsource these kinds of technical jobs? Most people don't quite seem to appreciate the crisis that the UK is going through in maths, science and engineering. I'm guessing the situation is similar abroad?
Hmm, can you clarify on that somewhat? I assume you're refering to the proposal for the EU to keep all internet phone records for a certain period of time? If not, please enlighten me, I've always been rather proud of my country's respect for privacy, but current trends do worry me.
I know a lot of people are concerned about Big Brother, but my response to that is, if you are not doing anything wrong, why should you worry about it?
Try telling that to Shi Tao http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0909/p01s03-woap.htm l. Perhaps Mr Hurtt would like a camera in his home, given that he seems so enthusiastic about them? Maybe it could be placed in his bedroom, or somewhere equally degrading.
Anyway, doesn't the fourth amendment protect against unreasonable search and seizure? I'm pretty sure this would count as an unreasonable search.
Now my initial thoughts on this were: No, no-one taking a tech ed course is so bone-headed as to require their teacher to beat them with a mental stick going "NO! Copyright infrignment wrong, bad file-sharer!"
It may however have a beneficial effect. Sure, why not discuss copyight law? An excellent exercise would be for student to come up with an estimate as to how much money is spent across the various levels of government paying for licences for Windows, Microsoft Office, etc. They could then work out how many schools say, or hospitals could be built with this money otherwise. The more mathematically astute could calculate the change in the teacher:pupil or doctor:patient ratio.
They could also discuss the patenting of the RSA cryptosystem, and discuss whether we should be allowing patents on mathematics. (Exercise for the reader: if Newton had patented the calculus, and the government was required to pay 1 cent for every lesson taught involving calculus, how much per year would be expended in this manner?)
They could also consider the case put forward by the music industry that it is being threatened by p2p sharing of music. (Another exercise, for the terminally bored among you: Graph sales of music against p2p activity for each year. Is there any correllation? Calculate the correlation coefficient, remembering to post off a cheque for royalties to whichever statistician invented the said coefficient.)
No, we do not have cold fusion. This isn't a power source at all (i.e. over all the process is endothermic), we just have a small "neutron-making-machine".
I hate to be the pessimist, but it almost certainly won't. Most research into fusion as a power source involes performing it on a reasonably large scale (think ITER). At this sort of size you simply wont get the efficiency you need to get out more energy than you put in.
They probably can't fly an unmanned aerial vehicle through many countries. For example, from CAP 393 (UK Air Navigation Order):
The commander of a flying machine or glider registered in the United Kingdom shall
cause one pilot to remain at the controls at all times while it is in flight.
You can't have an aircraft without a pilot in command, and I imagine most other countries have similar provisions. More information on this anyone?
If he isn't welcome in those countries he won't be overflying them anyway. He's unlikely to have any form of failure that would cause him to lose directional control. If he has to make a forced landing, well, the GF appears to be designed along the lines of a sailplain, he'll probably be able to travel a good few kilometers before landing.
I think people are taking an over simplified view of this. Just because police cars have dropped back does not mean the suspect is no longer being persued. In the UK it seems to be standard practise to call in a helicopter to follow the car. This device would simply make it easier for the police helicopter to distinguish the car from others around it, and would also allow for the possibility that officers lose sight of the car before a helicopter arrives.
Yes, the criminal will most likely ditch the car eventually, at which point he will still be visible to the helicopter pilot, who will be able to direct police cars back towards the suspect.
Not all entertainment has to appeal to the lowest common denominator. And anyway, the public don't neccesarily need to relate to something to find it entertaining, look at how popular airshows are.
Slashdot Mirror
The device isn't really going to be the limiting factor, you're limited by the accuracy of the time signal sent from the satellite.
Sorry, I sort of asked the wrog question there. Is the student loan actually a profit making venture for anyone, or is the interest just charged at the inflation rate?
Ok, I'm not quite sure how things work in the states, I live in the UK. Do you get charged interest on the student loans? To be honest, I can see that they would be a distraction in class. For those doing a science subject, it takes more time than it's worth to work out how to input various greek/arabic symobls etc. (I actually know one students who draws small animals for variables!), or to draw diagrams. And if they care that much about having their notes in electronic form, typing them up on a desktop is excellent revision.
How much EM radiation do these devices really produce? It can't be that much.
It's obviously much greater for a mobile phone than other electronic devices, but a laptop/gaming handheld with wireless technology could still produce a significant amount.
Is the GPS system the only affected system?
Almost certainly not. I suspect GPS was mentioned because it's the only technology most readers would understand. It's not legal to navigate solely by GPS, and the modile phone ban has certainly been part of UK aviation law long before GPS navigation was common, however the air law manual still cites the reason for the ban as "interference with naviagtion equipment". Therefore I'd guess it's possible for it to interfere with at least one of VOR, VDF or DME.
Does it show an error of a dozen meters of a dozen kilometers or does it simply not work at all?
Well the accuracy of GPS is about 10-15 meters, so dozens of meters will not be a huge error relative to its unsual accuracy.
To a certain point I understand banning cell phones, but other electronic devices?
It's unlikely that other electonic devices will be banned. The aritcle stated that they can only be used once the plane has climbed to its cruising altitude. At this point the flight crew would normally be navigating along an airway using VOR, so small interferences from electronic devices should not be too serious.
Will the university be paying for these laptops if students aren't able to afford them?
Also, the decision that all students require laptops is baffling. I'm a maths with physics undergraduate and I manage perfectly well with a desktop, and to be honest, I don't think it would affect my work much if I had to do without it.
So, let's get this straight. This tax starts from the assumption that you're copying CDs? Fine, I say. I'm sure Canada has "double jeapody" clauses in it legal code, so you can't be punished again for the same crime. So, copy away. Hold a weekly session with your friends (I think this is called a "consumers' cooperative") where you get together and work out what CDs the majority of you would be willing to pay for. Split the costs, and copy them (ok, let's say we fairly share out who keeps originals).
Sorry, what's that you're saying at the back? "It's wrong"? Yeh, sure it is, and you're being punished for it already, so all's fair!
Is it possible to host a datacentre out at sea?
Now it's very interesting that you should mention that. I remember seeing an article several years ago, shortly after Napster was shut down, regarding a proposal to set up a peer-to-peer server on Sealand. As the internet seems likely to remain in US control, I would feel happier at times if my search engine was at sea...
Please tell me you're joking? properly implemented encryption? It was terrible, most likely MMaestro is right, there was no simply pressing need to decrypt them. If you want to know why the encryption wasn't properly implemented, I'd recommend ULTRA, or The Code Book by Simon Singh.
The Germans were over-confident to the point of incompetence with their encryption. The British certainly didn't attempt to change this, and ULTRA was only declassified in 1974, and it's likely as not that the Germans still thought their ciphers invincible at the end of the war.
Hmm, is that a serious threat though? You would need a quite competent biotech programme to produce biological weapons, and, frankly, with the state North Korea's in I doubt that they have such facilities.
Besides, with their current suspected nuclear capability, would biological weapons really be that great an advantage? Remember the DPRK regime's main concern is warding off an invasion by the US, and in such a situation a nuclear weapon is a far greater threat than any biological capability.
Is that the entire reason? My aunt works in chemical engineering, and they regularly outsource their mathematical modelling to Polish universities. It would be cheaper to employ people to do it, but they don't for the simple reason that you can't get the mathematicians/physicists in the UK.
*SLAP!* No, SECOND post, S-E-C-O-N-D. Although deliciously ironic coming after a post decrying the state of mathematics education...
If nothing else, this should serve as a short, sharp shock to Western governments. Why are we having to outsource these kinds of technical jobs? Most people don't quite seem to appreciate the crisis that the UK is going through in maths, science and engineering. I'm guessing the situation is similar abroad?
Hmm, can you clarify on that somewhat? I assume you're refering to the proposal for the EU to keep all internet phone records for a certain period of time? If not, please enlighten me, I've always been rather proud of my country's respect for privacy, but current trends do worry me.
I know a lot of people are concerned about Big Brother, but my response to that is, if you are not doing anything wrong, why should you worry about it?
m l. Perhaps Mr Hurtt would like a camera in his home, given that he seems so enthusiastic about them? Maybe it could be placed in his bedroom, or somewhere equally degrading.
Try telling that to Shi Tao http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0909/p01s03-woap.ht
Anyway, doesn't the fourth amendment protect against unreasonable search and seizure? I'm pretty sure this would count as an unreasonable search.
Now my initial thoughts on this were: No, no-one taking a tech ed course is so bone-headed as to require their teacher to beat them with a mental stick going "NO! Copyright infrignment wrong, bad file-sharer!"
It may however have a beneficial effect. Sure, why not discuss copyight law? An excellent exercise would be for student to come up with an estimate as to how much money is spent across the various levels of government paying for licences for Windows, Microsoft Office, etc. They could then work out how many schools say, or hospitals could be built with this money otherwise. The more mathematically astute could calculate the change in the teacher:pupil or doctor:patient ratio.
They could also discuss the patenting of the RSA cryptosystem, and discuss whether we should be allowing patents on mathematics. (Exercise for the reader: if Newton had patented the calculus, and the government was required to pay 1 cent for every lesson taught involving calculus, how much per year would be expended in this manner?)
They could also consider the case put forward by the music industry that it is being threatened by p2p sharing of music. (Another exercise, for the terminally bored among you: Graph sales of music against p2p activity for each year. Is there any correllation? Calculate the correlation coefficient, remembering to post off a cheque for royalties to whichever statistician invented the said coefficient.)
No, we do not have cold fusion. This isn't a power source at all (i.e. over all the process is endothermic), we just have a small "neutron-making-machine".
I hate to be the pessimist, but it almost certainly won't. Most research into fusion as a power source involes performing it on a reasonably large scale (think ITER). At this sort of size you simply wont get the efficiency you need to get out more energy than you put in.
Now over here in the UK I we have a phrase for this sorta thing: "false advertising".
And I'm pretty sure we have laws against it too...
They probably can't fly an unmanned aerial vehicle through many countries. For example, from CAP 393 (UK Air Navigation Order):
The commander of a flying machine or glider registered in the United Kingdom shall cause one pilot to remain at the controls at all times while it is in flight.
You can't have an aircraft without a pilot in command, and I imagine most other countries have similar provisions. More information on this anyone?
Offtopic, he's in an aeroplane. And hey, even if you're not impressed by the piloting of it, the aircraft itself is quite a technical achievment.
If he isn't welcome in those countries he won't be overflying them anyway. He's unlikely to have any form of failure that would cause him to lose directional control. If he has to make a forced landing, well, the GF appears to be designed along the lines of a sailplain, he'll probably be able to travel a good few kilometers before landing.
I think people are taking an over simplified view of this. Just because police cars have dropped back does not mean the suspect is no longer being persued. In the UK it seems to be standard practise to call in a helicopter to follow the car. This device would simply make it easier for the police helicopter to distinguish the car from others around it, and would also allow for the possibility that officers lose sight of the car before a helicopter arrives.
Yes, the criminal will most likely ditch the car eventually, at which point he will still be visible to the helicopter pilot, who will be able to direct police cars back towards the suspect.
Not all entertainment has to appeal to the lowest common denominator. And anyway, the public don't neccesarily need to relate to something to find it entertaining, look at how popular airshows are.
tend to deny responsibility when they perform badly
Ah yes, "blamestorming".