"I'm not sure that the censorship claim stacks up. This is about classification systems."
"Classification systems" are an essential part of censorship. Indeed the examples he gives of "classification systems", movie and TV ratings, are age-based censorship systems.
"Conscience votes go to matters to do with life and death..." Sure there isn't much death involved here, but there is a potentially large, and definitely some, effect on what it is like to live in Australia. Ultimately, every vote is a "conscience" vote, and even this one is, as Conroy himself challenges the conscience of Malcolm Turnbull: "[he] has to explain to Australian families that he is prepared to do nothing about blocking access to those sites."
I guess they're trying really hard "down under" to live up to the ideals of Orwell's Oceania.
Whatever route you take, at the end, make sure the students have actually automated some task, understand the value of it, and can do it again.
Give them some big piece of tedious work, and make sure they can write a little program to do it for them. Better make sure they understand how to work iteratively and test their results too.
A society filled with regular office workers who can use a computer to automate their tasks will be much more productive, and consequently richer.
Having a nice printed manual to leaf through can be one of the joys of a new game... just as there is something special about buying music on vinyl that was lost for cassettes and CDs, could there be something lost for games here?
I don't really know, the only games I play now are my childhood favourites on my SNES (yes, I still have it and it still works - though I do have to do the NES "cartridge-blow" trick from time to time) and I haven't bought a new name since Civ 3, so I'm not really in their target audience anyway...
Eclipse is a fairly good ide, it could use help with C/C++ development tooling. gdb could stand some love, especially so that it can better be hidden behind a UI.
"Once all trivial tasks are handled automatically there are no trivial tasks left, and thus it is no longer a trade..."
OK - I see what you're trying to say, but I think you're missing what a trade is about. Consider a cabinet maker. Sure you can automate the process of building a cabinet - indeed you can find lots of manufactured cabinets. But if you're kitchen does have the perfect dimensions, or your requirements are a little unique, you better get a cabinet maker who can custom build what you need. Not all trades are monotonous and easy to automate.
All the same, I think of software development as a craft - one that is all about design, because the implementers are not the people but the computers.
I use a Thinkpad X61 and it is fantastic (Ubuntu + virtualized XP). (Previously I had a T43p which was also good.) For your price requirements and the fact that you like the second battery, I would definitely go with a T series. It is not just the customer service that is good, the quality is top notch. I've dropped both laptops on tile floors (the T43p twice) with the worst result being a bit of chipped plastic through which you could see the METAL body on the T43p. Docking station is superb as well (I used it for both, but it is especially great with the X61).
I have also recommended the SL series to some family, but don't have personal experience with it.
ahem: " Do you think they know a bit or two about science? Or do you trust Faux News to get your "facts" instead? Your denialism is about as misguided as that of truthers, birthers or moon landing denialists, with the difference than none of those risk killing millions by being stupid. They're just being stupid. You Heritage Foundation and AEI shills are criminally stupid. Or just criminally insane. "
translates to: "by associating you with the faux news viewers, conspiracy theorists, and shills, Q.E.D."
whatever else you said, that part boils down to "you're a dumbass, so I'm right"
In technology, standards committees consist of "unpaid" members too, and those members are always trying to do the Right Thing (TM) without ever advancing their own (or their company's) special interests.
If these authors aren't being paid to create the best and most accurate review of the state of climate change, what are they being paid for? By having the report reach certain conclusions, do any of them stand to gain? (These are not accusations, they are simply questions. And they are worth asking. Even more importantly, it is wise to have the answers before accepting the conclusions.)
By the bye, among the 2500, some were shocked by the conclusion drawn from their work, and asked to have their names removed.
Climate science is very complex, and we can't do pass/fail experiments to validate theories, which makes it even harder.
As I've written before (privately): " Climate science cannot follow the traditional scientific method (approx.: hypothesize, experiment, evaluate; repeat as needed), so we can't be sure it's conclusions are accurate. And statements of "likelihood" all depend on what factors are included and with what weight. We cannot have incontrovertible evidence of Man-made climate change without being able to show reproducible results. How much more difficult it is to have any certainty when you only have one direct data point to study (i.e. there are only humans on one planet, Earth). It is worth our time to revisit our conclusions about Anthropogenic climate change regularly, for no other reason than they cannot be scientifically certain. "
Whatever "good faith" of the scientist who contribute to the IPCC, its conclusions are written by politicians. I, for one, find it a perfectly sane position to question everything I hear from a politician.
I am glad you added your ad hominem attacks to this thread, it is slashdot after all.
what does an *Intergovernmental Panel* have to do with science? more, what *should* it have to do with science? what was that about "fool me twice"? Shame on anyone who accepts a political consensus without a large bag of side walk salt.
"It's a hugely complex system with a lot of random variation and unknown factors."
THIS is why I am always amazed when I hear people repeat the line about "scientific consensus is that man-made global warming is happening"...
it is just too clear that not enough is known... it seems that a climate scientist is lauded for drawing conclusions that would make him a laughing stock in any other field (based on the level of knowledge, all the confounding factors, the inconsistent metrics, etc., etc., etc.)
actually, I do like to think that many climate scientists don't make the claims, but they are complicit in not calling out those that do (unfortunately there is strong economic incentive to be studying a calamity)
ftfa: She didn't realize until the next morning her laptop defaulted to the Ubuntu operating system.... Schubert says she never heard of Ubuntu before learning that's when she accidentally bought. She called Dell the very next day and says the representative told her there was still time to change back to Windows. But she says Dell discouraged her. "The person I was talking to said Ubuntu was great, college students loved it, it was compatible with everything I needed," said Schubert. So she stuck with it.
I liked the book quote too, and if I was hearing this story from a friend or family member, I'd be pretty certain I was hearing a steaming load of excuses for dropping out of school. Still, I don't know this woman, so I'll assume she's sincere.
Once the Dell agent realized that she was obviously new to Linux, he either should have let her switch to Windows for a few bucks more, or signed her up for the 30 day or 1 year software support contract.
She actually realized she had made a mistake before the computer was shipped, and called Dell. But the rep she spoke to convinced her to stick with Ubuntu anyway. It appears that he didn't suggest one of the support packages that Dell offers for their Ubuntu machines.
Another missed part of the story is that Verizon mustn't have done anything to help her before this became news (given my experience with big ISPs they don't give much help if you're using Linux, so I assume she called).
While it isn't exactly fair to expect companies to bend over backwards to help customers with what they perceive to be "exotic" setups, I wonder why, after all these years, they don't at least have a list of local LUGs to which they could direct Linux users. Had someone at least got her in touch with them, I bet the problems could have been resolved.
this just in: literacy enables terrorist to communicate more effectively
related news: troops in Afghanistan will begin rooting out insurgent teachers who are instructing the next generation of terrorists the techniques of reading and writing (arithmetic, aka math, had been banned long ago once it was discovered that 3rd grade Afghans were surpassing the proficiency of US high school grads)
bstring is really nice to use... that is the thing about C (and C++)... for almost any complaint you have about the language lacking something or another, there is a library (usually open source, and usually under a commercial-friendly license too) and with C, if you don't need it, you don't have to worry about it showing up at runtime anyway and slowing you down... all this beautiful hardware, all this so-slow code... there are times and places for any language, but I think too many can't even recognized the time or place for C (and C++) anymore
Slashdot Mirror
yeah - "hope for humanity" ... I'm losing it fast when, supposedly, one of the smartest of us still hasn't figured out backups
hmmm, I think I run one now
"I'm not sure that the censorship claim stacks up. This is about classification systems."
"Classification systems" are an essential part of censorship. Indeed the examples he gives of "classification systems", movie and TV ratings, are age-based censorship systems.
"Conscience votes go to matters to do with life and death ..." Sure there isn't much death involved here, but there is a potentially large, and definitely some, effect on what it is like to live in Australia. Ultimately, every vote is a "conscience" vote, and even this one is, as Conroy himself challenges the conscience of Malcolm Turnbull: "[he] has to explain to Australian families that he is prepared to do nothing about blocking access to those sites."
I guess they're trying really hard "down under" to live up to the ideals of Orwell's Oceania.
Whatever route you take, at the end, make sure the students have actually automated some task, understand the value of it, and can do it again.
Give them some big piece of tedious work, and make sure they can write a little program to do it for them.
Better make sure they understand how to work iteratively and test their results too.
A society filled with regular office workers who can use a computer to automate their tasks will be much more productive, and consequently richer.
I very much agree
Having a nice printed manual to leaf through can be one of the joys of a new game ... just as there is something special about buying music on vinyl that was lost for cassettes and CDs, could there be something lost for games here?
I don't really know, the only games I play now are my childhood favourites on my SNES (yes, I still have it and it still works - though I do have to do the NES "cartridge-blow" trick from time to time) and I haven't bought a new name since Civ 3, so I'm not really in their target audience anyway ...
seriously, shouldn't he have been tasered a few times, then beaten for good measure?
brilliant - I should RTFA that I referenced!
I will be completely surprised if this works on the PS3 slim.
I understood that one of the ways Sony cut the price and reduced the size for the slim was that they did not include the IBM hypervisor that made the whole thing possible.
(see:
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-linux-ps3-1/
http://www.osnews.com/story/22073/Why_No_OtherOS_Option_on_PS3_Slim_Sony_Answers
for a few more details)
Without the hypervisor, its just not possible.
"using statistical analysis developed by economists to try to draw conclusions"
this sounds promising
/deadpan
Eclipse is a fairly good ide, it could use help with C/C++ development tooling.
gdb could stand some love, especially so that it can better be hidden behind a UI.
"Once all trivial tasks are handled automatically there are no trivial tasks left, and thus it is no longer a trade ..."
OK - I see what you're trying to say, but I think you're missing what a trade is about.
Consider a cabinet maker. Sure you can automate the process of building a cabinet - indeed you can find lots of manufactured cabinets. But if you're kitchen does have the perfect dimensions, or your requirements are a little unique, you better get a cabinet maker who can custom build what you need.
Not all trades are monotonous and easy to automate.
All the same, I think of software development as a craft - one that is all about design, because the implementers are not the people but the computers.
I use a Thinkpad X61 and it is fantastic (Ubuntu + virtualized XP).
(Previously I had a T43p which was also good.)
For your price requirements and the fact that you like the second battery, I would definitely go with a T series.
It is not just the customer service that is good, the quality is top notch. I've dropped both laptops on tile floors (the T43p twice) with the worst result being a bit of chipped plastic through which you could see the METAL body on the T43p.
Docking station is superb as well (I used it for both, but it is especially great with the X61).
I have also recommended the SL series to some family, but don't have personal experience with it.
name calling
no support for the assertion: "I'm right, you're wrong"
I don't see any point in continuing.
When you want to debate facts and bring to bear logic and reason, I enjoy that kind of thing.
(Makes you wonder why I'm bothering to post comments on slashdot ;-) )
ahem:
"
Do you think they know a bit or two about science? Or do you trust Faux News to get your "facts" instead?
Your denialism is about as misguided as that of truthers, birthers or moon landing denialists, with the difference than none of those risk killing millions by being stupid. They're just being stupid. You Heritage Foundation and AEI shills are criminally stupid. Or just criminally insane.
"
translates to: "by associating you with the faux news viewers, conspiracy theorists, and shills, Q.E.D."
whatever else you said, that part boils down to "you're a dumbass, so I'm right"
In technology, standards committees consist of "unpaid" members too, and those members are always trying to do the Right Thing (TM) without ever advancing their own (or their company's) special interests.
If these authors aren't being paid to create the best and most accurate review of the state of climate change, what are they being paid for?
By having the report reach certain conclusions, do any of them stand to gain?
(These are not accusations, they are simply questions. And they are worth asking. Even more importantly, it is wise to have the answers before accepting the conclusions.)
By the bye, among the 2500, some were shocked by the conclusion drawn from their work, and asked to have their names removed.
Climate science is very complex, and we can't do pass/fail experiments to validate theories, which makes it even harder.
As I've written before (privately):
"
Climate science cannot follow the traditional scientific method (approx.: hypothesize, experiment, evaluate; repeat as needed), so we can't be sure it's conclusions are accurate. And statements of "likelihood" all depend on what factors are included and with what weight.
We cannot have incontrovertible evidence of Man-made climate change without being able to show reproducible results. How much more difficult it is to have any certainty when you only have one direct data point to study (i.e. there are only humans on one planet, Earth).
It is worth our time to revisit our conclusions about Anthropogenic climate change regularly, for no other reason than they cannot be scientifically certain.
"
Whatever "good faith" of the scientist who contribute to the IPCC, its conclusions are written by politicians.
I, for one, find it a perfectly sane position to question everything I hear from a politician.
I am glad you added your ad hominem attacks to this thread, it is slashdot after all.
what does an *Intergovernmental Panel* have to do with science?
more, what *should* it have to do with science?
what was that about "fool me twice"? Shame on anyone who accepts a political consensus without a large bag of side walk salt.
As to the idea of having a judge decide on science ... BAD IDEA! ;-) ):
For you Americans, use the courts to challenge the Constitutional legitimacy of the EPA.
Generally, look at what's been going on in Australia wrt their cap-and-trade scheme (they actually call it a *scheme*
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/06/24/could_australia_blow_apart_the_great_global_warming_scare_97148.html
amen!
I sat watching those two videos in absolute awe.
fortran 2003 is an OO language ...
and don't forget, you can write fortran in any language
what?
you have to be poor to have a fridge from the 1990's?!
"It's a hugely complex system with a lot of random variation and unknown factors."
THIS is why I am always amazed when I hear people repeat the line about "scientific consensus is that man-made global warming is happening" ...
it is just too clear that not enough is known ...
it seems that a climate scientist is lauded for drawing conclusions that would make him a laughing stock in any other field (based on the level of knowledge, all the confounding factors, the inconsistent metrics, etc., etc., etc.)
actually, I do like to think that many climate scientists don't make the claims, but they are complicit in not calling out those that do
(unfortunately there is strong economic incentive to be studying a calamity)
ftfa: ...
She didn't realize until the next morning her laptop defaulted to the Ubuntu operating system.
Schubert says she never heard of Ubuntu before learning that's when she accidentally bought. She called Dell the very next day and says the representative told her there was still time to change back to Windows.
But she says Dell discouraged her.
"The person I was talking to said Ubuntu was great, college students loved it, it was compatible with everything I needed," said Schubert.
So she stuck with it.
I liked the book quote too, and if I was hearing this story from a friend or family member, I'd be pretty certain I was hearing a steaming load of excuses for dropping out of school. Still, I don't know this woman, so I'll assume she's sincere.
Once the Dell agent realized that she was obviously new to Linux, he either should have let her switch to Windows for a few bucks more, or signed her up for the 30 day or 1 year software support contract.
She actually realized she had made a mistake before the computer was shipped, and called Dell. But the rep she spoke to convinced her to stick with Ubuntu anyway. It appears that he didn't suggest one of the support packages that Dell offers for their Ubuntu machines.
Another missed part of the story is that Verizon mustn't have done anything to help her before this became news (given my experience with big ISPs they don't give much help if you're using Linux, so I assume she called).
While it isn't exactly fair to expect companies to bend over backwards to help customers with what they perceive to be "exotic" setups, I wonder why, after all these years, they don't at least have a list of local LUGs to which they could direct Linux users. Had someone at least got her in touch with them, I bet the problems could have been resolved.
this just in:
literacy enables terrorist to communicate more effectively
related news:
troops in Afghanistan will begin rooting out insurgent teachers who are instructing the next generation of terrorists the techniques of reading and writing (arithmetic, aka math, had been banned long ago once it was discovered that 3rd grade Afghans were surpassing the proficiency of US high school grads)
bstring is really nice to use ... ... for almost any complaint you have about the language lacking something or another, there is a library (usually open source, and usually under a commercial-friendly license too) ... all this beautiful hardware, all this so-slow code ... there are times and places for any language, but I think too many can't even recognized the time or place for C (and C++) anymore
that is the thing about C (and C++)
and with C, if you don't need it, you don't have to worry about it showing up at runtime anyway and slowing you down