No more federally funded energy research, no more federally funded parks, no more federally funded public education, no more federally funded low income housing, no more federally funded roads & bridges.
Individual states are more than capable of managing public education, parks, low income housing, roads, bridges, hurricane warning systems, etc. themselves. The idea that these things won't exist if the federal government doesn't give each state handouts for it is ludicrous.
State and local government is more efficient at managing the true needs of its residents than the federal government.
When the federal government funds these programs, there are strings attached. One glaring example of this is no child left behind. Ask the teachers and school administrators if they think no child left behind is good policy and they'll overwhelmingly agree it detracts from student education, yet it's national policy.
Another example: medical marijuana. The residents of many states have voted to legalize its use for specific purposes, yet the federal government refuses to listen to the voice of the people in these states and continues its crusade against it with force.
When you only listen to half of the man's message and act like you're an expert you're doing yourself and everyone else a disservice.
The simple truth is that D.C is as far out of touch with the rest of the people of this country as the British government was with the colonies. The idea that D.C. knows what we need better than our state and local government doesn't hold water.
He's simply advocating state government over federal government, and I for one agree with it.
Moore's law has applied, and will apply - at least by inference - to all past and future computing paradigms.
The exponential growth trends of price/performance started long before CMOS processes were developed. While Moore's law specifically refers to integrated circuits, the facts remain: exponential growth trends were present in relay-based machines, vacuum tube based machines, transistor based machines (pre-IC), and integrated circuits.
In fact, the exponential growth trends are actually accelerating at an accelerating pace, as we are just now approaching the "knee" in the exponential curve.
The simple truth is today's ICs are manufactured at the nano scale ( 100nm), and will continue to shrink for several more generations of chips.
Before transistor size even begins to approach theoretical limits, new paradigms will emerge to replace current metal-oxide-semiconductor technologies.
We can already see this today. As we approach the limit to two dimensional ICs, we see the new emerging trend of three-dimensional circuits. We see the rumblings in research circles of optical systems at nano-scales. We're just now beginning to scratch the surface of quantum computing.
While Moore didn't invent the exponential, the trends he predicted more than four decades ago will be alive and well throughout the 21st century, even if by inference, as we transition away from CMOS to new, as-of-yet undiscovered paradigms.
To those seriously interested in this field, please consider reading Ray Kurzweil's "The Singularity is Near". You may not agree with everything the man has to say, but the man's data on this subject doesn't lie.
Anecdotal accounts my ass. Fracking contaminates fresh ground water supplies, it IS as simple as that.
When it's something as vital to life as FRESH WATER, it seems reasonable to err on the side of caution, does it not?
The fracking companies have been ordered by US courts to supply fresh water (in trucks that fill giant basins) to the people who's lives they have destroyed with this process. What other evidence do you need?
The majority of fresh water that supplies major US metropolitan areas is contained in a few watersheds. These people ARE going to fuck up OUR fresh water supply for PROFIT.
Get a clue already. When you don't have fresh water to drink, cook with, bathe with, and do your laundry with, it will be too fucking late.
Destroying water sources for energy is a bad trade. These assholes getting rich off it in Washington don't fucking care about you. Get a grip, and stop being a puppet. Fresh water as a resource cannot be replaced. You need it to live. And you're going to sit idly by waiting for 'evidence' that's already out there, but you're too thick to acknowledge.
Make no mistake, this process destroys the environment, and destroys sources of fresh water. Fill in the blanks my friends, connect the dots, and see where we are without fresh water and whether a trade for tiny amounts of energy (in the grand scheme of things) is worth it.
You're missing the point. If this strain is proven to have been created in a lab and doesn't exist in the wild, its release is most definitely a conspiracy, and not a "conspiracy theory".
Journalists writing about the possibility aren't starting conspiracy theories, they're doing investigative journalism, something the world is woefully short on these days.
The intended outcome of writing a piece like this is to report on the possibility. Don't be so quick to dismiss it as crazy "conspiracy theory".
It's also just a conspiracy theory that Baxter released live samples of the H3N2 seasonal flu virus contaminated with H5N1 avian flu in February 2009, right? Oh wait...
Cross-contamination of flu samples destined for the yearly flu vaccination stockpiles with deadly flu strains just an accident? If you think so, do some research into the quarantine procedures they use in facilities where biological research on flu strains is conducted. Unintentional cross contamination doesn't happen.
You can easily turn off this feature of Windows Vista/Windows 7.
Simply disable the "Superfetch" service.
And, if you don't like the indexing service indexing everything on your computer, disable the "Windows Search" service.
In my experience, disabling these services drastically improves performance under Vista and also gives a more Windows XP like experience, since these are two of the major "features" of Vista. Once they're disabled, you'll notice a vast performance improvement.
Looks like Microsoft Management Summit 2009 conference attendees (Apr 27th - May 2nd) might be getting a nice surprise in their swag bags this year.
The download date aligns nicely with the end-of-conference date of May 2nd, with conference attendees likely getting a copy 5-7 days in advance of the download being available to the public!
This is as much about pushing a reliable 64-bit Windows platform as it is about Redmond's revenue streams.
Big picture, Vista x64, and the upcoming Windows 7 x64, are the platforms MS wants developers developing for. The 64-bit Windows revolution isn't going to happen with XP hanging around in the background. XP x64 was terrible.
I've personally been running Vista x64 for some time and have had no problems. We all know the benefits, especially with CrossFire and SLI setups taking up as much as a GB of the memory address space of 32-bit operating systems. This seems like something the Slashdot crowd would generally be in favor of.
Vista 64 and Windows 7 64 are the future of the Microsoft platform. With Microsoft controlling 87% of the desktop OS market share, the sooner it happens, the better off we are.
When the players change but the policies don't, how can anyone argue that a two party system works, or that there are even two parties?
Discussions of this sort have value as they generally lend themselves to an awareness amongst the participants that the American two-party political system is essentially a good cop/bad cop situation.
Many older educated Americans have known for decades that America is, for all intents and purposes, a one party system. Upon superficial examination it appears to be a two party system, but the will of the people is ignored no matter what party is in the White House. International politics aside, corporate interests dictate the direction of country because they fund the elections.
Dude, copyright infringement is currently a *civil* offense, not a criminal offense. There are many reasonable positions that can be taken when one is accused of copyright infringement that are completely legitimate.
The problem here is as such: the MPAA and RIAA are doing everything in their power to make small-time cases of alleged copyright infringement a criminal offense. Why would they do such a thing?
Aside from continuing to make money off a flawed 20th century business model which has essentially become a legalized racket, there are other very large benefits.
Most notably, enforcement of copyright laws shifts from themselves to the government. Instead of being a civil case, police officers suddenly are in charge of enforcing and arresting copyright offenders, and DAs are in charge of prosecuting offenders. The **AAs no longer need to fund the dragnet. The government is obligated to enforce and uphold the law.
The government gets their cut from the offenders, and the RIAA gets their cut as well, with a lower overall overhead, as they no longer have to pay their army of lawyers and book keepers to keep everything strait.
If you don't see the flaw in this business model, you need another drink like you need a hole in the head. Civil offenses, to be settled by two private parties, should never become criminal offenses which are policed by the government.
Flashback to 1985: Imagine being pulled over by a cop for speeding, him seeing your non-original tape collection sitting in your front seat and taking you in for copyright infringement.
That's what they want, wake up and see it for what it is, and say HELL NO.
Linux is a fantastic alternative to Windows / OSX / BSD / et al, there's no doubt about it. However, trumpeting Linux or OSX as your savior when it comes to some of these issues is counting your chickens before your eggs hatch. Here's why:
On Linux:
Every single time you play back a DVD under linux using Open Source software in the United States, you're breaking the law. Why? This software is not licensed, and under the DMCA, it's illegal to decrypt it.
Listen up. This is NOT going to change when it comes to high definition content playback. Yes, maybe you'll eventually be able to play back this content in Linux, but certainly not legally - unless someone finds a way to license this! You'll once again be breaking the law.
Having said that, tell me why it's so terribly bad that Microsoft is giving it's customers the ability to legally play back high definition video from Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs? This requires DRM and HDCP support. This requirement was handed to them from the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD consortium. Customers are going to demand the ability to play back the content, so Microsoft is making sure not to abandon it's customers! BECAUSE THEY DEMAND IT!
On OSX:
OSX rocks, there's no doubt about it. But again, think about this. If you want to legally play back HD-DVD or Blu-Ray content in OSX, it requires the use of DRM and HDCP, or it will be downgraded to a lower resolution! There's no getting around this! Apple, Inc. is going to be damn sure to allow its customers to play back this content legally! And I guarantee they won't take as much flack for this than Microsoft on Slashdot. Ho Hum, nothing new to see here.
So, install linux - you won't be able to use that Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player... and if you do, you'll be breaking the law.
So, install OSX - you'll be able to play it back LEGALLY because apple will see to it you can, provided you have an HDCP compliant monitor.
So, install Vista - you'll be able to play it back LEGALLY because MS will see to it you can, provided you have an HDCP compliant monitor. They might even back port this to XP, so you can LEGALLY play back HD content under XP. Those assholes!
Get it? Linux is not going to save you here. It's going to HINDER legal playback of these formats. Does it suck? Yes! But there's no getting around it - the people higher up the food chain are still going to demand their slice of the pie, anyway you cut it.
.... is there no difference between flying at 1500 feet in a single prop plane at 100 knots and flying in a jet traveling at 350 - 400 mph at 35000 - 40000 feet? There most definately is. You should consider qualifying such statements before stating them as blanket truth, i.e. saying "planes do work in planes because this one guy says so".
So while it's true that cell phones DO work in planes, i think it's a reasonable assessment that there are a lot of variables that go into getting a reliable signal/connection from a jetliner flying 6 miles above the earth over nothing.
Ed Schultz, being both a pilot and liberal radio commentator should take such things into account.
Regedit/s this file (and reboot) to remap your Capslock key to the Windows key. Great on laptops that don't have a Windows key, too!(for those of us who use the shortcuts Windows+E , Windows+R, etc the Windows key is a must). Cut between the ---- and put into a file.
--- CUT HERE --- Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
Is this not government sponsored Safe For Work website tagging legislation? In all seriousness, who wants to bet old Robbie was busted by a techie lookin at switch traffic while surfin for porn at work on your tax dollar? His solution: Explicit Clicks to Look At Boobies... for the entire world.
Americans rejoice! Click not in fear, for The Government shall save your job.
But honestly, how is this the work of a conservative? Larger government to further the criminal intent of not just Americans, but the entire world. The ideologues have control of Washington, and continue to take it too far. This smacks of overt government legislation.
Does anyone else miss the 'real' conservative values the Republican party was founded on? These neocons have got to go, for our country and the world.
You make some excellent points. And I happen to aggree with some of them.
Biggest in the sense that Microsoft software runs on 95% of all PCs sold in the world, sans china. Which works out to be, what, 90% of all computers sold every year? To me, that's the "biggest".
And lets not confuse "brightest minds in the world" with "most technically adept". This includes business smarts, the ability to forge relationships with others (even if they eventually don't aggree at the end of the relationship), and the ability to lead the masses. You don't rag your buddy about picking up the hottie because she hates him in the morning do you? The "end" of relationships is always less than civil, otherwise the relationship wouldn't need to end.
Microsoft has great leaders. That's not only the reason they exist, but the reason for their continued success. Put another way, Carnegie wasn't the biggest steel man in the world because he was the smartest. But he was a great leader that understood the need to surround himself with people smarter than he was in most every field. Same goes for Gates, Jobs, et al.
Comparing Microsoft to NASA is like comparing Hyundai to Ferarri; they're completely different products, with different processes, and different customers. One is mass produced, the other is built by hand from the ground up.
> NOTHING on IBM's labs, or SUN, or Intel. MSFT's
Again, apples and oranges. Sun continually releases nothing useful. Intel is a hardware company. IBM is a SERVICE company. They create next to nothing, support their installed base, and outsource services.
Feel free to disagree about the business partnerships. Obviously, they have knocked some dicks in the dirt over the years by ending relationships with powerful companies in less than elegant ways. But c'mon, partnerships with every PC OEM on the planet (sans SUN) goes to show their ability to create partnerships is second to none, and directly lead to the success and mass adoption of both the PC and Microsoft software.
The explosive growth in the PC community (and the death of UNIX) was lead by three companies: Intel, Microsoft, and Dell. Those are the only business partnerships they needed, and were obviously some of the best in the history of commerce.
This is an excellent review. The time and effort put into it are obviously substantial. However, I do have one complaint about the review.
SDTV and DVD decoding are a given: any modern PC can decode them, so I understand why such tests were not performed. However, the reviewers are quite insistent on this processor being an excellent HTPC platform, so it puzzles me that no benchmarks and real world tests were used to document 720p and 1080i HDTV decoding (including de-interlacing for 1080i content). Decoding video is the most important thing a HTPC does, yet these tests were excluded?
I run MythTV on an Athlon 64 3700+ (2400 MHz), and this processor is just barely able to keep up with software decoding & deinterlacing of 1080i content while ensuring sync to prevent horizontal on-screen tearing. It would be of value to their readers to include software decoding processor utilization for 720p and 1080i content before announcing it an excellent HTPC platform.
Another one missing the point. While other companies are focusing and refocusing their efforts on eye candy and "sleeker" interfaces, Microsoft continually hits balls out of the park in the enterprise. Windows Vista is about security enhancements and enterprise management. Any techie worth a damn on the microsoft side of things knows that. Anyone on the outside, including Linux fanboys like yourself completely miss the point. Active Directory, Group Policy, and Systems Management Server are what drive Microsoft sales. Enterprise management is what drives sales and generates HUGE revenue streams. They figured this out 6 years ago after NT 4 was a bust. Now they have a 5 year head start on YOU. Good luck catching them.
Get it strait: The new interface is nothing more than a bonus, and a much needed upgrade of a bonus at that. Look under the hood, and you'll be surprised. Now, stop regurgitating the same old BS we've been hearing for years, and tell us something that's of value.
You got it right. While most people at this site are Linux fanboy's and despise anything and everything that Microsoft ever does, they continually miss the point: Microsoft is the biggest and most successful software production house in the history of the world. The open source community projects envy through hate. The brightest minds in the world work for Microsoft. They produce software 24 hours a day, everyday, of every year. I don't understand why people don't get it. Microsoft's software runs the world because they are the best at what they do. I mean this "best" in every sense of the word, from technical innovation to business partnerships. If you're too blind to see it, you're in denial.
Now, that's not to say they're not shady. But consider for a moment, many of the best business' in the world have questionable practices. They're not 'fair'. Look at the oil companies. Get a grip, people. Life isn't fair, and as a Windows and Linux admin for the past 10 years of my life, i would rather manage an enterprise based on Microsoft products because of the enterprise management tools they offer. Every other operating system is at least 5 years behind in enterprise management. So before you bash them, or get off topic with "microsoft suX0rs", get a grip, open your eyes, and see reality for what it is: Microsoft continues to win because they are the best at what they do.
You're not going to be driving this car. Seriously. It's for old ladies with scarves that cost more than your dog. Old ladies with scarves that cost more than your dog don't want to fishtail. Ever. Having said that, since you're concerned about being able to "turn it off" , how long do you think it will take before it's permanently disabled? (as in B-R-O-K-E-N, it is a Jaguar) Jaguar sucks. Besides, it's just too expensive for any reasonable nerd to even consider. And by expensive, i don't mean 'costs too much'. I mean, it's just unreasonable to expect any sane person to buy a Jaguar when other vehicles in its class: outperform it, don't break down weekly, and are generally more appealing for the money.
You bring up some excellent points. What you're missing, I fear, is that at some point in the future, it will be illegal to not carry the card. You will be arrested for not having it, even though it serves no purpose. You will be forced to pay for it, even though you don't want it. You will be asked to show it frequently, and will show it. Think back to when you were young for a moment, when the ideological forces surrounding democracy and communism were rooted in stone. Does anyone else remember the commie's saying something to the effect of "Communism will invade the free world without us having ever fired a shot." Today, it seems, they were right. The free world celebrates in the name of safety and security. I fear when the people of the world wake up from this miserable nightmare of a reality were living in during these post 9/11 years, they will find they no longer have the power to set things right again.
Color and others factors are also taken into account, so "dilution" may not neccessarily apply if, for example, you created "Coke" (red/white) pajamas in "Pepsi" colors (blue / white).
... getting drunk in game to increase your fantasy stats is okay.... ... doing drugs in game to increase your hitpoints/mana/endurance is okay... ... racism in game is okay.... ala Race Wars... it's part of roleplaying, people... ... elves & humans, gnomes and trolls getting married is okay... ... heterosexual marriages in game is okay..... ... playing an evil race in game is okay....... ... you can worship any god you choose in game, and it's okay... ... killing the good & neutral races, or being racist against them (/roleplay) is okay... ... being a homosexual friendly guild is not... ??
Someone make sense of this for me... It seems to me everything is 'fantasy' in a 'fantasy' world. You can drink booze? Think of the children! You can kill other things? Think of the children! You can be gay? NO, THINK OF THE CHILDREN. REALLY THIS TIME. Please, get back to being nothing more than racist against barbarians, you dark elves. WTF? How does this make any sense? Since when is entering a 'fantasy' world not fantasy? Say something like 'I wanna do three lizards at the same time' in public chat channels and you get a warning? And by 'do' I mean KILL, and that's okay. It's peoples own warped sense of values that lead to these stupid discussions.. They need to realize their values don't apply... it's fantasy.... A made up, alice in wonderland, make believe world. Sesiously, what if my characted IS gay?... and by gay... i mean happy. Really, it's make believe, anything goes, anything is game. Offend my fake, made up, fantasy character? Try it, and i'll kill you... -- okay Me being friendly to various types of ONLINE characters? not okay.
My real problem: What's the carrot? Why should I care?
Besides watching the Bold and the Beautiful at work, this is pointless.
Why would I download a show from google that's:
(a) Already free (e.g. BROADCAST over the airwaves and timeshifted)
(b) Already free (can be downloaded via bittorrent)
(c) Not in HD format (for popular shows)?
It better have no commercials (probably not), and if it's a popular show it better be in HD. (you are watching it on your monitor, are you not?) Since no current portable media devices support Google DRM, should we expect to buy an additional portable media player to play these files back on the road?
At least Apple did it in the right order. If you want to have downloadable media, get the hardware platform FIRST.
Maybe it's just me, but playing back pricey, DRM'd, non-HD broadcast content on a computer makes no sense to me.
I find one of the most amazing things in life is one's ability to completely ignore objective facts while claiming to be objective by objectively stating subjective opinions.
Sweeping, generalized comments based on specific shortcomings, especially when it comes to operating systems, seem to carry the day. The simple fact of the matter is software, without regard to function or origin, is most always flawed in one way or another, and has shortcomings that another piece of software doesn't.
It's of little consequence to most "people", we'll call them users, that the very thing they defend based on ideological grounds is also flawed. Case in point, linux vs. Windows , a debate that will never end.
The simple fact of the matter is, they're both here to stay. And they both have their uses. Whether one is "better" than the other on technical grounds matters to very few people. There are countless examples of this throughout technological history. Betamax vs. VHS, diesel vs. gasoline engines, linux vs. windows, internet explorer vs. mozilla, so on and so forth. The simple fact of the matter is, whatever people are comfortable with, that's what they're going to stay with.
That's not to say people can't be comfortable with more than one thing. Many users are comfortable enough with both Windows AND linux. I, for one, use both on a daily basis.
And to say things like "the only place where linux really lags behind windows is..." may not be the right approach to this debate. The fact of the matter is their are pro's and con's to each side of the debate.
What the leaders of the linux community most probably realize, and the users (and in some cases devolopers) do not, is that linux makes its place in computing. The place will be decided by demand. They don't choose to push their product into places users don't want it; it's based on demand, and they're fine with that.
From what I can tell, those defending open source and linux based on ideology are sewing the seeds of their own destruction, for it can lead to nothing but complacency. Many, not all, are saying "it's already good enough", when it's not. Not recognizing the shortcomings of software and addressing them by saying "it's not that hard, they should be able to figure it out" just doesn't work on complex software projects.
The reality of the situation is, Windows is the dominant force of the two today. It may not remain that way, but if it's going to change, many things need to happen. As it stands, USERS demand Windows machines because USERS use the computers. It's familiar, and when its setup by someone else with the knowhow, they have nothing to learn or change. It's just easier to not learn something new. And they're comfortable with that.
The fact is, we support nearly 1000 dual boot Windows XP / Linux machines, and linux is used a very, very small % of the time. And i'll just say it's not the history majors that are target users; this is at a top 5 engineering institution in the US. UNIX is nearly completely phased out on the desktop front (solaris, HPUX - gone), and is not going to come back. Very few people use Apple OSX. 99% of the desktop hardware budget is PC hardware. Why? Because users DEMAND more windows machines. With the phaseout of traditional UNIX vendors on the desktop, should we consider some linux only machines? No way users would allow it. They'd ask "why isn't windows on so and so PC?"
Odd - we do the right thing by supporting both, but Linux is almost never used. Weird? No. All of the engineering applications that drove HP and SUN purchases in years past have migrated to - get this - Windows. And this is in the academy, where the user community it highly intellectual.
Go out to best buy, grab a video capture card or/gasp, a wireless network card, take it home and plug it into your linux machine without doing any research.... just walk in and buy random models and brands. What do you have to do
Slashdot Mirror
Source: (read the article for full details)
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/06/13/bicycling-the-safest-form-of-transportation/
Biking vs. Driving
Driving a car at 70MPH for one hour:
20 minutes of lifespan erased
$35.00 per hour of money burned
Riding a bike at 12MPH for one hour:
4.5 hours of lifespan gained
$100 of monetary gains secured
On a Per-Mile Basis:
Car: Lose 50 cents and 18 seconds of life
Bike: Gain $8.33 and 1350 seconds of life
No more federally funded energy research, no more federally funded parks, no more federally funded public education, no more federally funded low income housing, no more federally funded roads & bridges.
Individual states are more than capable of managing public education, parks, low income housing, roads, bridges, hurricane warning systems, etc. themselves. The idea that these things won't exist if the federal government doesn't give each state handouts for it is ludicrous.
State and local government is more efficient at managing the true needs of its residents than the federal government.
When the federal government funds these programs, there are strings attached. One glaring example of this is no child left behind. Ask the teachers and school administrators if they think no child left behind is good policy and they'll overwhelmingly agree it detracts from student education, yet it's national policy.
Another example: medical marijuana. The residents of many states have voted to legalize its use for specific purposes, yet the federal government refuses to listen to the voice of the people in these states and continues its crusade against it with force.
When you only listen to half of the man's message and act like you're an expert you're doing yourself and everyone else a disservice.
The simple truth is that D.C is as far out of touch with the rest of the people of this country as the British government was with the colonies. The idea that D.C. knows what we need better than our state and local government doesn't hold water.
He's simply advocating state government over federal government, and I for one agree with it.
Moore's law has applied, and will apply - at least by inference - to all past and future computing paradigms.
The exponential growth trends of price/performance started long before CMOS processes were developed. While Moore's law specifically refers to integrated circuits, the facts remain: exponential growth trends were present in relay-based machines, vacuum tube based machines, transistor based machines (pre-IC), and integrated circuits.
In fact, the exponential growth trends are actually accelerating at an accelerating pace, as we are just now approaching the "knee" in the exponential curve.
The simple truth is today's ICs are manufactured at the nano scale ( 100nm), and will continue to shrink for several more generations of chips.
Before transistor size even begins to approach theoretical limits, new paradigms will emerge to replace current metal-oxide-semiconductor technologies.
We can already see this today. As we approach the limit to two dimensional ICs, we see the new emerging trend of three-dimensional circuits. We see the rumblings in research circles of optical systems at nano-scales. We're just now beginning to scratch the surface of quantum computing.
While Moore didn't invent the exponential, the trends he predicted more than four decades ago will be alive and well throughout the 21st century, even if by inference, as we transition away from CMOS to new, as-of-yet undiscovered paradigms.
To those seriously interested in this field, please consider reading Ray Kurzweil's "The Singularity is Near". You may not agree with everything the man has to say, but the man's data on this subject doesn't lie.
Anecdotal accounts my ass. Fracking contaminates fresh ground water supplies, it IS as simple as that.
When it's something as vital to life as FRESH WATER, it seems reasonable to err on the side of caution, does it not?
The fracking companies have been ordered by US courts to supply fresh water (in trucks that fill giant basins) to the people who's lives they have destroyed with this process. What other evidence do you need?
The majority of fresh water that supplies major US metropolitan areas is contained in a few watersheds. These people ARE going to fuck up OUR fresh water supply for PROFIT.
Get a clue already. When you don't have fresh water to drink, cook with, bathe with, and do your laundry with, it will be too fucking late.
Destroying water sources for energy is a bad trade. These assholes getting rich off it in Washington don't fucking care about you. Get a grip, and stop being a puppet. Fresh water as a resource cannot be replaced. You need it to live. And you're going to sit idly by waiting for 'evidence' that's already out there, but you're too thick to acknowledge.
Make no mistake, this process destroys the environment, and destroys sources of fresh water. Fill in the blanks my friends, connect the dots, and see where we are without fresh water and whether a trade for tiny amounts of energy (in the grand scheme of things) is worth it.
You're missing the point. If this strain is proven to have been created in a lab and doesn't exist in the wild, its release is most definitely a conspiracy, and not a "conspiracy theory".
Journalists writing about the possibility aren't starting conspiracy theories, they're doing investigative journalism, something the world is woefully short on these days.
The intended outcome of writing a piece like this is to report on the possibility. Don't be so quick to dismiss it as crazy "conspiracy theory".
It's also just a conspiracy theory that Baxter released live samples of the H3N2 seasonal flu virus contaminated with H5N1 avian flu in February 2009, right? Oh wait...
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/02/27/8560781.html
Cross-contamination of flu samples destined for the yearly flu vaccination stockpiles with deadly flu strains just an accident? If you think so, do some research into the quarantine procedures they use in facilities where biological research on flu strains is conducted. Unintentional cross contamination doesn't happen.
You can easily turn off this feature of Windows Vista/Windows 7.
Simply disable the "Superfetch" service.
And, if you don't like the indexing service indexing everything on your computer, disable the "Windows Search" service.
In my experience, disabling these services drastically improves performance under Vista and also gives a more Windows XP like experience, since these are two of the major "features" of Vista. Once they're disabled, you'll notice a vast performance improvement.
Looks like Microsoft Management Summit 2009 conference attendees (Apr 27th - May 2nd) might be getting a nice surprise in their swag bags this year.
The download date aligns nicely with the end-of-conference date of May 2nd, with conference attendees likely getting a copy 5-7 days in advance of the download being available to the public!
www.mms-2009.com
This is as much about pushing a reliable 64-bit Windows platform as it is about Redmond's revenue streams.
Big picture, Vista x64, and the upcoming Windows 7 x64, are the platforms MS wants developers developing for. The 64-bit Windows revolution isn't going to happen with XP hanging around in the background. XP x64 was terrible.
I've personally been running Vista x64 for some time and have had no problems. We all know the benefits, especially with CrossFire and SLI setups taking up as much as a GB of the memory address space of 32-bit operating systems. This seems like something the Slashdot crowd would generally be in favor of.
Vista 64 and Windows 7 64 are the future of the Microsoft platform. With Microsoft controlling 87% of the desktop OS market share, the sooner it happens, the better off we are.
When the players change but the policies don't, how can anyone argue that a two party system works, or that there are even two parties?
Discussions of this sort have value as they generally lend themselves to an awareness amongst the participants that the American two-party political system is essentially a good cop/bad cop situation.
Many older educated Americans have known for decades that America is, for all intents and purposes, a one party system. Upon superficial examination it appears to be a two party system, but the will of the people is ignored no matter what party is in the White House. International politics aside, corporate interests dictate the direction of country because they fund the elections.
Talk is cheap. Actions scream.
Dude, copyright infringement is currently a *civil* offense, not a criminal offense. There are many reasonable positions that can be taken when one is accused of copyright infringement that are completely legitimate. The problem here is as such: the MPAA and RIAA are doing everything in their power to make small-time cases of alleged copyright infringement a criminal offense. Why would they do such a thing? Aside from continuing to make money off a flawed 20th century business model which has essentially become a legalized racket, there are other very large benefits. Most notably, enforcement of copyright laws shifts from themselves to the government. Instead of being a civil case, police officers suddenly are in charge of enforcing and arresting copyright offenders, and DAs are in charge of prosecuting offenders. The **AAs no longer need to fund the dragnet. The government is obligated to enforce and uphold the law. The government gets their cut from the offenders, and the RIAA gets their cut as well, with a lower overall overhead, as they no longer have to pay their army of lawyers and book keepers to keep everything strait. If you don't see the flaw in this business model, you need another drink like you need a hole in the head. Civil offenses, to be settled by two private parties, should never become criminal offenses which are policed by the government. Flashback to 1985: Imagine being pulled over by a cop for speeding, him seeing your non-original tape collection sitting in your front seat and taking you in for copyright infringement. That's what they want, wake up and see it for what it is, and say HELL NO.
> "Why do massive bodies attract each other?" "God did it."
...
And to think I've been blaming alcohol all these years. I should have been blaming God?
God, they say you work in mysterious ways. You owe me a 110 lb blonde with big
Linux is a fantastic alternative to Windows / OSX / BSD / et al, there's no doubt about it. However, trumpeting Linux or OSX as your savior when it comes to some of these issues is counting your chickens before your eggs hatch. Here's why:
On Linux:
Every single time you play back a DVD under linux using Open Source software in the United States, you're breaking the law. Why? This software is not licensed, and under the DMCA, it's illegal to decrypt it.
Listen up. This is NOT going to change when it comes to high definition content playback. Yes, maybe you'll eventually be able to play back this content in Linux, but certainly not legally - unless someone finds a way to license this! You'll once again be breaking the law.
Having said that, tell me why it's so terribly bad that Microsoft is giving it's customers the ability to legally play back high definition video from Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs? This requires DRM and HDCP support. This requirement was handed to them from the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD consortium. Customers are going to demand the ability to play back the content, so Microsoft is making sure not to abandon it's customers! BECAUSE THEY DEMAND IT!
On OSX:
OSX rocks, there's no doubt about it. But again, think about this. If you want to legally play back HD-DVD or Blu-Ray content in OSX, it requires the use of DRM and HDCP, or it will be downgraded to a lower resolution! There's no getting around this! Apple, Inc. is going to be damn sure to allow its customers to play back this content legally! And I guarantee they won't take as much flack for this than Microsoft on Slashdot. Ho Hum, nothing new to see here.
So, install linux - you won't be able to use that Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player... and if you do, you'll be breaking the law.
So, install OSX - you'll be able to play it back LEGALLY because apple will see to it you can, provided you have an HDCP compliant monitor.
So, install Vista - you'll be able to play it back LEGALLY because MS will see to it you can, provided you have an HDCP compliant monitor. They might even back port this to XP, so you can LEGALLY play back HD content under XP. Those assholes!
Get it? Linux is not going to save you here. It's going to HINDER legal playback of these formats. Does it suck? Yes! But there's no getting around it - the people higher up the food chain are still going to demand their slice of the pie, anyway you cut it.
So while it's true that cell phones DO work in planes, i think it's a reasonable assessment that there are a lot of variables that go into getting a reliable signal/connection from a jetliner flying 6 miles above the earth over nothing.
Ed Schultz, being both a pilot and liberal radio commentator should take such things into account.
Regedit /s this file (and reboot) to remap your Capslock key to the Windows key. Great on laptops that don't have a Windows key, too!(for those of us who use the shortcuts Windows+E , Windows+R, etc the Windows key is a must). Cut between the ---- and put into a file.
r ol\Keyboard Layout]0 ,3a,00,00,00,00,00
--- CUT HERE ---
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Cont
"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,5b,e
--- CUT HERE ---
Is this not government sponsored Safe For Work website tagging legislation? In all seriousness, who wants to bet old Robbie was busted by a techie lookin at switch traffic while surfin for porn at work on your tax dollar? His solution: Explicit Clicks to Look At Boobies... for the entire world.
Americans rejoice! Click not in fear, for The Government shall save your job.
But honestly, how is this the work of a conservative? Larger government to further the criminal intent of not just Americans, but the entire world. The ideologues have control of Washington, and continue to take it too far. This smacks of overt government legislation.
Does anyone else miss the 'real' conservative values the Republican party was founded on? These neocons have got to go, for our country and the world.
You make some excellent points. And I happen to aggree with some of them.
Biggest in the sense that Microsoft software runs on 95% of all PCs sold in the world, sans china. Which works out to be, what, 90% of all computers sold every year? To me, that's the "biggest".
And lets not confuse "brightest minds in the world" with "most technically adept". This includes business smarts, the ability to forge relationships with others (even if they eventually don't aggree at the end of the relationship), and the ability to lead the masses. You don't rag your buddy about picking up the hottie because she hates him in the morning do you? The "end" of relationships is always less than civil, otherwise the relationship wouldn't need to end.
Microsoft has great leaders. That's not only the reason they exist, but the reason for their continued success. Put another way, Carnegie wasn't the biggest steel man in the world because he was the smartest. But he was a great leader that understood the need to surround himself with people smarter than he was in most every field. Same goes for Gates, Jobs, et al.
Comparing Microsoft to NASA is like comparing Hyundai to Ferarri; they're completely different products, with different processes, and different customers. One is mass produced, the other is built by hand from the ground up.
> NOTHING on IBM's labs, or SUN, or Intel. MSFT's
Again, apples and oranges. Sun continually releases nothing useful. Intel is a hardware company. IBM is a SERVICE company. They create next to nothing, support their installed base, and outsource services.
Feel free to disagree about the business partnerships. Obviously, they have knocked some dicks in the dirt over the years by ending relationships with powerful companies in less than elegant ways. But c'mon, partnerships with every PC OEM on the planet (sans SUN) goes to show their ability to create partnerships is second to none, and directly lead to the success and mass adoption of both the PC and Microsoft software.
The explosive growth in the PC community (and the death of UNIX) was lead by three companies: Intel, Microsoft, and Dell. Those are the only business partnerships they needed, and were obviously some of the best in the history of commerce.
This is an excellent review. The time and effort put into it are obviously substantial. However, I do have one complaint about the review.
SDTV and DVD decoding are a given: any modern PC can decode them, so I understand why such tests were not performed. However, the reviewers are quite insistent on this processor being an excellent HTPC platform, so it puzzles me that no benchmarks and real world tests were used to document 720p and 1080i HDTV decoding (including de-interlacing for 1080i content). Decoding video is the most important thing a HTPC does, yet these tests were excluded?
I run MythTV on an Athlon 64 3700+ (2400 MHz), and this processor is just barely able to keep up with software decoding & deinterlacing of 1080i content while ensuring sync to prevent horizontal on-screen tearing. It would be of value to their readers to include software decoding processor utilization for 720p and 1080i content before announcing it an excellent HTPC platform.
Another one missing the point. While other companies are focusing and refocusing their efforts on eye candy and "sleeker" interfaces, Microsoft continually hits balls out of the park in the enterprise. Windows Vista is about security enhancements and enterprise management. Any techie worth a damn on the microsoft side of things knows that. Anyone on the outside, including Linux fanboys like yourself completely miss the point. Active Directory, Group Policy, and Systems Management Server are what drive Microsoft sales. Enterprise management is what drives sales and generates HUGE revenue streams. They figured this out 6 years ago after NT 4 was a bust. Now they have a 5 year head start on YOU. Good luck catching them.
Get it strait: The new interface is nothing more than a bonus, and a much needed upgrade of a bonus at that. Look under the hood, and you'll be surprised. Now, stop regurgitating the same old BS we've been hearing for years, and tell us something that's of value.
You got it right. While most people at this site are Linux fanboy's and despise anything and everything that Microsoft ever does, they continually miss the point: Microsoft is the biggest and most successful software production house in the history of the world. The open source community projects envy through hate. The brightest minds in the world work for Microsoft. They produce software 24 hours a day, everyday, of every year. I don't understand why people don't get it. Microsoft's software runs the world because they are the best at what they do. I mean this "best" in every sense of the word, from technical innovation to business partnerships. If you're too blind to see it, you're in denial.
Now, that's not to say they're not shady. But consider for a moment, many of the best business' in the world have questionable practices. They're not 'fair'. Look at the oil companies. Get a grip, people. Life isn't fair, and as a Windows and Linux admin for the past 10 years of my life, i would rather manage an enterprise based on Microsoft products because of the enterprise management tools they offer. Every other operating system is at least 5 years behind in enterprise management. So before you bash them, or get off topic with "microsoft suX0rs", get a grip, open your eyes, and see reality for what it is: Microsoft continues to win because they are the best at what they do.
You're not going to be driving this car. Seriously. It's for old ladies with scarves that cost more than your dog. Old ladies with scarves that cost more than your dog don't want to fishtail. Ever. Having said that, since you're concerned about being able to "turn it off" , how long do you think it will take before it's permanently disabled? (as in B-R-O-K-E-N, it is a Jaguar) Jaguar sucks. Besides, it's just too expensive for any reasonable nerd to even consider. And by expensive, i don't mean 'costs too much'. I mean, it's just unreasonable to expect any sane person to buy a Jaguar when other vehicles in its class: outperform it, don't break down weekly, and are generally more appealing for the money.
You bring up some excellent points. What you're missing, I fear, is that at some point in the future, it will be illegal to not carry the card. You will be arrested for not having it, even though it serves no purpose. You will be forced to pay for it, even though you don't want it. You will be asked to show it frequently, and will show it. Think back to when you were young for a moment, when the ideological forces surrounding democracy and communism were rooted in stone. Does anyone else remember the commie's saying something to the effect of "Communism will invade the free world without us having ever fired a shot." Today, it seems, they were right. The free world celebrates in the name of safety and security. I fear when the people of the world wake up from this miserable nightmare of a reality were living in during these post 9/11 years, they will find they no longer have the power to set things right again.
Color and others factors are also taken into account, so "dilution" may not neccessarily apply if, for example, you created "Coke" (red/white) pajamas in "Pepsi" colors (blue / white).
... getting drunk in game to increase your fantasy stats is okay....
... doing drugs in game to increase your hitpoints/mana/endurance is okay ...
... racism in game is okay .... ala Race Wars... it's part of roleplaying, people...
... elves & humans, gnomes and trolls getting married is okay...
... heterosexual marriages in game is okay .....
... playing an evil race in game is okay .......
... you can worship any god you choose in game, and it's okay...
... killing the good & neutral races, or being racist against them (/roleplay) is okay...
... being a homosexual friendly guild is not... ??
... A made up, alice in wonderland, make believe world. Sesiously, what if my characted IS gay? ... and by gay... i mean happy. Really, it's make believe, anything goes, anything is game. Offend my fake, made up, fantasy character? Try it, and i'll kill you... -- okay Me being friendly to various types of ONLINE characters? not okay.
Someone make sense of this for me... It seems to me everything is 'fantasy' in a 'fantasy' world. You can drink booze? Think of the children! You can kill other things? Think of the children! You can be gay? NO, THINK OF THE CHILDREN. REALLY THIS TIME. Please, get back to being nothing more than racist against barbarians, you dark elves. WTF? How does this make any sense? Since when is entering a 'fantasy' world not fantasy? Say something like 'I wanna do three lizards at the same time' in public chat channels and you get a warning? And by 'do' I mean KILL, and that's okay. It's peoples own warped sense of values that lead to these stupid discussions.. They need to realize their values don't apply... it's fantasy.
My real problem: What's the carrot? Why should I care?
Besides watching the Bold and the Beautiful at work, this is pointless.
Why would I download a show from google that's:
(a) Already free (e.g. BROADCAST over the airwaves and timeshifted)
(b) Already free (can be downloaded via bittorrent)
(c) Not in HD format (for popular shows)?
It better have no commercials (probably not), and if it's a popular show it better be in HD. (you are watching it on your monitor, are you not?) Since no current portable media devices support Google DRM, should we expect to buy an additional portable media player to play these files back on the road?
At least Apple did it in the right order. If you want to have downloadable media, get the hardware platform FIRST.
Maybe it's just me, but playing back pricey, DRM'd, non-HD broadcast content on a computer makes no sense to me.
I find one of the most amazing things in life is one's ability to completely ignore objective facts while claiming to be objective by objectively stating subjective opinions.
/gasp, a wireless network card, take it home and plug it into your linux machine without doing any research.... just walk in and buy random models and brands. What do you have to do
Sweeping, generalized comments based on specific shortcomings, especially when it comes to operating systems, seem to carry the day. The simple fact of the matter is software, without regard to function or origin, is most always flawed in one way or another, and has shortcomings that another piece of software doesn't.
It's of little consequence to most "people", we'll call them users, that the very thing they defend based on ideological grounds is also flawed. Case in point, linux vs. Windows , a debate that will never end.
The simple fact of the matter is, they're both here to stay. And they both have their uses. Whether one is "better" than the other on technical grounds matters to very few people. There are countless examples of this throughout technological history. Betamax vs. VHS, diesel vs. gasoline engines, linux vs. windows, internet explorer vs. mozilla, so on and so forth. The simple fact of the matter is, whatever people are comfortable with, that's what they're going to stay with.
That's not to say people can't be comfortable with more than one thing. Many users are comfortable enough with both Windows AND linux. I, for one, use both on a daily basis.
And to say things like "the only place where linux really lags behind windows is..." may not be the right approach to this debate. The fact of the matter is their are pro's and con's to each side of the debate.
What the leaders of the linux community most probably realize, and the users (and in some cases devolopers) do not, is that linux makes its place in computing. The place will be decided by demand. They don't choose to push their product into places users don't want it; it's based on demand, and they're fine with that.
From what I can tell, those defending open source and linux based on ideology are sewing the seeds of their own destruction, for it can lead to nothing but complacency. Many, not all, are saying "it's already good enough", when it's not. Not recognizing the shortcomings of software and addressing them by saying "it's not that hard, they should be able to figure it out" just doesn't work on complex software projects.
The reality of the situation is, Windows is the dominant force of the two today. It may not remain that way, but if it's going to change, many things need to happen. As it stands, USERS demand Windows machines because USERS use the computers. It's familiar, and when its setup by someone else with the knowhow, they have nothing to learn or change. It's just easier to not learn something new. And they're comfortable with that.
The fact is, we support nearly 1000 dual boot Windows XP / Linux machines, and linux is used a very, very small % of the time. And i'll just say it's not the history majors that are target users; this is at a top 5 engineering institution in the US. UNIX is nearly completely phased out on the desktop front (solaris, HPUX - gone), and is not going to come back. Very few people use Apple OSX. 99% of the desktop hardware budget is PC hardware. Why? Because users DEMAND more windows machines. With the phaseout of traditional UNIX vendors on the desktop, should we consider some linux only machines? No way users would allow it. They'd ask "why isn't windows on so and so PC?"
Odd - we do the right thing by supporting both, but Linux is almost never used. Weird? No. All of the engineering applications that drove HP and SUN purchases in years past have migrated to - get this - Windows. And this is in the academy, where the user community it highly intellectual.
Go out to best buy, grab a video capture card or