This probably goes way back before the time of most Slashdotters, but in 1977, David Lee Roth, Eddie and Alex van Halen, and Mark Anthony walked into a studio, played 11 tracks with minimal re-takes, and walked out the same day. The result was one of the most influential albums in hard rock history.
Many people will dispute which of the band's many albums was its "magnum opus", but no one would discard Van Halen as a shaky, half-assed first attempt. Then again, I have no idea how much time they spent polishing their tracks in the garage beforehand.
I doubt Apple would ever switch to MP3s. They've got too much invested in their format to abandon it now.
In the early eighties, Apple had a lot invested in the Apple 2. In the late eighties, Sony had a lot invested in Betamax. In 1980, Chrysler had a fresh billion dollars invested in big-car factories.
It doesn't matter how much you've invested. If the world goes vegetarian, you kill the cash cows. Sucks to be moo.
...before a gov't starts acting on all of their world-stage aspirations, shouldn't they feed their citizens?
Let's go back to 1499. European countries were launching voyages of exploration, seeking out new trade routes and discovering new countries. Guess who else was doing that? China. Until their government decided that they should fix their problems at home before spending excessive resources on maritime exploration.
So where is China today compared to Europe in terms of domestic poverty? If you're going to stay at home until your domestic problems are solved, you're going to stay at home forever.
does anyone else here think it seems a bit odd to print a number with 16 decimal places then stick an E+08 at the end...
I just think the 16 decimal places are kind of overkill because, by the time you write them down, everything after the fifth or sixth one has changed because the objects are moving relative to each other.
I'm currently taking an Environmental Engineering degree at BCIT in British Columbia. Five years ago, I took the Mechanical Engineering Technology diploma there. During my first program, we always joked that the difference between a mechanical engineer fresh out of university and a mechanical technologist fresh out of BCIT was that, although both could design a machine, the former could understand exactly why every part of it functioned, down to the quantum level, while the BCIT grad could find the ON switch.
When I got out of school, I was productive from day one. Not as productive as I was after six months, by any means, but I understood enough theory to do any design work the company needed me to, but I could also talk to the shop guys on their terms, understanding why they disagreed with the engineers on certain matters--and why one or the other was right in each case.
My current degree is proving to be much the same. We're not learning as much in-depth theory as a Masters student in Environmental Engineering would (even though this is a Bachelor's degree, the general level compares to the Master's-level studies two of my classmates have taken in other countries), but we're learning skills that we will be able to apply immediately when we graduate--mainly because our instructors are current industry professionals (more P.Eng's than Ph.D's) who take time away from work to come teach a class.
So what's the route to a high-quality Engineering education?
Instructors, not professors - The last thing you need is some ivory-tower academic who hasn't had a real job since slide rules were cutting edge technology. Find a school where the faculty not only works closely with industry, they are industry. This also gives you valuable employment connections.
Short programs - Forget the four-year ordeal that gives you nothing but a huge debt and a head full of fluff. Take a short program that will give you a lesser credential and some real skills. Go back to school to upgrade your credential later. The practical experience you will gain will be well worth the extra time.
Forget the fluff! - You only need so much theory. For example, I learned enough Thermodynamics in my Mechanical Design diploma to design heat exchangers and related devices. Unlike a former co-worker (a university grad), I could not describe the quantum physics of the airflow over the heat exchanger. But how many employers want to hear about quantum physics? They just want you to design the damned heat exchanger!
You don't have to make a binary choice between being a master engineer and being a wrench monkey. There are schools out there that will turn you into a competent designer (in whatever discipline they specialize) without requiring a third mortgage and a second brain implant. If you're in Canada, polytechnic institutes are becoming more common as technical colleges start offering more degree-level programs. The only problem, of course, is that enrollment tends to be limited, so you need a good combination of marks and experience just to get in. But that's really no different than getting into a prestigious university.
Maybe it will be set in Argentina. Plenty of Nazis there circa 1960's, right?
Aha! Indy will race to find an ancient relic that Hitler (who didn't die in Berlin) is looking for so he can use its amazing powers to take over the world. Hitler uses a similar (but less powerful) artifact to cast a spell on a bullet he gives to Lee Harvey Oswald. Indy's comic sidekick (who he picks up in Venezuela) is a young man named Hugo who has a crazy dream of selling cheap oil to the USA after world prices rise. Eventually he kills Hitler and saves the world before disappearing in a small southeast Asian country where the commies are making trouble, leaving the door open to Indy 5: Archaeologist Now!.
Just a note: Even though classical music has a much lower profile than rock/pop/rap/etc., a lot of it is produced by RIAA members. I don't see Mozart and Brahms complaining about file sharing on behalf of the RIAA (although that would be a neat trick), but I'm sure classical MP3s would be included in the total on someone's hard drive in a lawsuit.
The Iraq/Iran war was so horrendous it was almost like WWI was in Europe, only with more effective weaponry including but not limited to--yep, you guessed it--chemical weapons.
So you're saying there were no chemical weapons used in World War One?
Bush did not go into Iraq to stop Saddam from killing Iraqis; he went in because of an imagined threat to US national security.
Being that Sony probably hasn't come up with a company line for why the PS3 keeps freezing a (dumb) representative spouted that "They were designed to do that."
I could imagine sales drones for other companies making the same excuse:
Wiimote: "It's a boomerang; throw it a little harder and it will return."
X-Box 360 power supply: "That's the integrated space heater."
Laptop batteries: "That's part of the force feedback system."
Pentium floating-point error: "That's to make sure you check your calculations by hand, like you're supposed to."
The Titanic: "In the event of a collision, the water cooling system kicks in."
No one in their right mind would design a kiosk that needs employee attention every 5-10 minutes.
Actually, it might be a good sales tool. Picture this:
CLERK: What seems to be the problem?
CUSTOMER: Johnny was playing this game, and it froze!
CLERK: Oh crap; it's broken. But I'll tell you what: because it's just a demo, I'll give you a 10% discount.
CUSTOMER: Excuse me?!
CLERK: Your son damaged this console. It's yours now.
CUSTOMER: This is outrageous! We're not paying for a broken game!
CLERK: When the gameplay paused, did Johnny hit the console? [knowing that everyone whacks an electronic device when it stops working]
CUSTOMER: Well...
CLERK: Sorry ma'am. You break it, you bought it.
What I think is funny is that, in a movie that features dinosaurs, cloned using frog DNA, running amok and basically eating a theme park, the biggest complaint here is that a kid can figure out how to use a computer.
I'm going to patent the process of issuing exclusive rights to a new invention with the purpose of allowing an inventor to get his invention produced without competition from companies who would otherwise reverse-engineer and sell the same invention without the R&D overhead.
...Voldemort uses Harry's blood to overcome the magic protection instilled by Lilly's sacrifice. When Harry mentions this to Dumbledore, his expression suggest an almost victorious feeling, and his response (I don't remember the exact wording) suggests that there may have been a trap of some kind in there.
Aha! It's the Esme Weatherwax trap! We'll know for sure if Voldemort (Lit. "flight of death") starts saying "I can't be having with that!"
Does something magically change when they turn 18? Nope, but that's the age when they can't blame someone else for their ignorance.
You're new to North America, aren't you? You can always blame someone else for your ignorance, negligence, or flagrant criminal behavior--if you have a good enough lawyer.
Slashdot Mirror
A conversation overheard recently over the ether:
Lucas DC: Hi! I've got 11.38PB/s and 500TB!
Google DC: Hah! I've pulled bigger queries out of my back end.
...although I'm not quite sure what that says about Google's "interfacing preferences".
This probably goes way back before the time of most Slashdotters, but in 1977, David Lee Roth, Eddie and Alex van Halen, and Mark Anthony walked into a studio, played 11 tracks with minimal re-takes, and walked out the same day. The result was one of the most influential albums in hard rock history.
Many people will dispute which of the band's many albums was its "magnum opus", but no one would discard Van Halen as a shaky, half-assed first attempt. Then again, I have no idea how much time they spent polishing their tracks in the garage beforehand.
In the early eighties, Apple had a lot invested in the Apple 2. In the late eighties, Sony had a lot invested in Betamax. In 1980, Chrysler had a fresh billion dollars invested in big-car factories.
It doesn't matter how much you've invested. If the world goes vegetarian, you kill the cash cows. Sucks to be moo.
Let's go back to 1499. European countries were launching voyages of exploration, seeking out new trade routes and discovering new countries. Guess who else was doing that? China. Until their government decided that they should fix their problems at home before spending excessive resources on maritime exploration.
So where is China today compared to Europe in terms of domestic poverty? If you're going to stay at home until your domestic problems are solved, you're going to stay at home forever.
"What's in a name? A pedantic pundit, by any other name, would still stink like a fart in an abattoir."
...Okay, maybe I'm paraphrasing a little.
...their computer will never be as fast as Hex.
+++Out of Cheese Error+++ +++Please Reboot Universe+++ +++Redo from Start+++
I just think the 16 decimal places are kind of overkill because, by the time you write them down, everything after the fifth or sixth one has changed because the objects are moving relative to each other.
Damn you and that mental image!
I'm currently taking an Environmental Engineering degree at BCIT in British Columbia. Five years ago, I took the Mechanical Engineering Technology diploma there. During my first program, we always joked that the difference between a mechanical engineer fresh out of university and a mechanical technologist fresh out of BCIT was that, although both could design a machine, the former could understand exactly why every part of it functioned, down to the quantum level, while the BCIT grad could find the ON switch.
When I got out of school, I was productive from day one. Not as productive as I was after six months, by any means, but I understood enough theory to do any design work the company needed me to, but I could also talk to the shop guys on their terms, understanding why they disagreed with the engineers on certain matters--and why one or the other was right in each case.
My current degree is proving to be much the same. We're not learning as much in-depth theory as a Masters student in Environmental Engineering would (even though this is a Bachelor's degree, the general level compares to the Master's-level studies two of my classmates have taken in other countries), but we're learning skills that we will be able to apply immediately when we graduate--mainly because our instructors are current industry professionals (more P.Eng's than Ph.D's) who take time away from work to come teach a class.
So what's the route to a high-quality Engineering education?
You don't have to make a binary choice between being a master engineer and being a wrench monkey. There are schools out there that will turn you into a competent designer (in whatever discipline they specialize) without requiring a third mortgage and a second brain implant. If you're in Canada, polytechnic institutes are becoming more common as technical colleges start offering more degree-level programs. The only problem, of course, is that enrollment tends to be limited, so you need a good combination of marks and experience just to get in. But that's really no different than getting into a prestigious university.
Tattoo it right beside "ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK".
Hmm... I wonder if they mean the people in general or The People who run The People's Republic. Could be an anti-subversive label.
Aha! Indy will race to find an ancient relic that Hitler (who didn't die in Berlin) is looking for so he can use its amazing powers to take over the world. Hitler uses a similar (but less powerful) artifact to cast a spell on a bullet he gives to Lee Harvey Oswald. Indy's comic sidekick (who he picks up in Venezuela) is a young man named Hugo who has a crazy dream of selling cheap oil to the USA after world prices rise. Eventually he kills Hitler and saves the world before disappearing in a small southeast Asian country where the commies are making trouble, leaving the door open to Indy 5: Archaeologist Now!.
From their new chief litigator: Dr. Evil.
"We hereby demand from AllOfMP3.com the sum of 1 billion, gagillion, fafillion, shabolubalu million illion yillion dollars!"
Just a note: Even though classical music has a much lower profile than rock/pop/rap/etc., a lot of it is produced by RIAA members. I don't see Mozart and Brahms complaining about file sharing on behalf of the RIAA (although that would be a neat trick), but I'm sure classical MP3s would be included in the total on someone's hard drive in a lawsuit.
Speech recognition is one of Vista's best implemented features. In fact, the other day I was talking to my aunt...
Delete that.
Let's set so double the killer delete select all.
Damn!
Besides that, a senior administration official gave this justification.
Oh wait... he wasn't in the Bush administration.
So you're saying there were no chemical weapons used in World War One?
Bush did not go into Iraq to stop Saddam from killing Iraqis; he went in because of an imagined threat to US national security.
I could imagine sales drones for other companies making the same excuse:
Wiimote: "It's a boomerang; throw it a little harder and it will return."
X-Box 360 power supply: "That's the integrated space heater."
Laptop batteries: "That's part of the force feedback system."
Pentium floating-point error: "That's to make sure you check your calculations by hand, like you're supposed to."
The Titanic: "In the event of a collision, the water cooling system kicks in."
Actually, it might be a good sales tool. Picture this:
CLERK: What seems to be the problem?
CUSTOMER: Johnny was playing this game, and it froze!
CLERK: Oh crap; it's broken. But I'll tell you what: because it's just a demo, I'll give you a 10% discount.
CUSTOMER: Excuse me?!
CLERK: Your son damaged this console. It's yours now.
CUSTOMER: This is outrageous! We're not paying for a broken game!
CLERK: When the gameplay paused, did Johnny hit the console? [knowing that everyone whacks an electronic device when it stops working]
CUSTOMER: Well...
CLERK: Sorry ma'am. You break it, you bought it.
"For an extra $3000, I'll sell you this little blue button to get you down."
What I think is funny is that, in a movie that features dinosaurs, cloned using frog DNA, running amok and basically eating a theme park, the biggest complaint here is that a kid can figure out how to use a computer.
I'll see your 8.3 naming system and raise you...
I'm going to patent the process of issuing exclusive rights to a new invention with the purpose of allowing an inventor to get his invention produced without competition from companies who would otherwise reverse-engineer and sell the same invention without the R&D overhead.
Guess who I'm gonna sue!
Aha! It's the Esme Weatherwax trap! We'll know for sure if Voldemort (Lit. "flight of death") starts saying "I can't be having with that!"
See Carpe Jugulum by Terry Prattchett
You're new to North America, aren't you? You can always blame someone else for your ignorance, negligence, or flagrant criminal behavior--if you have a good enough lawyer.
So you're using a Linux patch for your Mac vulnerability?