It matters if we decide to go there. If that bacteria turns out to be deadly to earth-based life (highly unlikely, but you never know) we'd best know before we get there. It also matters if it evolved completely independant of life on earth as it will give us clues to teh variety that life can assume. In all of our studies we have investigated life that is all from the same place, from the very same final ancestor, from the same stock. This limits our understanding of life to just what works here on earth.
personally I believe that life was created on earth and not elsewhere
What would lead you to that belief? All life needs to exist is the right materials, many of them quite plentiful in the universe; the right conditions, which Mars might not have had, but which many other places in the universe probably did; and enough time to get things done, again, Mars might not have provided.
As it is we have only looked at nine planets out of the possible trillions in the universe. How can we say that life has only existed here? Sure, we can not say for certain that life has or does exist elsewhere, but that's more a lack of evidence than proof.
And just looking at the pervasive nature of life, the fact that it will live anywhere it can makes me believe that it exists elsewhere if conditions allow.
The Co-Co was the Tandy (Radio Shack) Color Computer (sold in England as the Dragon). It was a 997KHz 6809 based computer. If you were uber-macho you could get a disk drive for it and run OS/9, a Unix-like OS that was quite fun. I had a 64KB Co-Co 2 for a few years. Very fun little machine. I sold it to someone who needed a cheap control system.
Actually, I know a LOT of people, both technically inclined and no, who refuse to upgrade to Windows XP, or who have actiively "downgraded" from Windows XP. Most are quite happy to sit on Win2K.
And a lot of those people also have refused to upgrade to Windows Media Player 9 because of the clauses in the EULA that give MS the right to fist you in the ass without your consent.
Right now Joe Sixpack doesn't know or care about thise crap. But that is starting to change. Whether the change will be far-reaching enough soon-enough to make a difference is another thing.
It would not surprise me to see Apple becoming the long-term winner if public resentment of MS continues to grow at the rates I'm seeing.
Bart Simpson: Otto! There's a gremlin on the side of the bus! Otto Mann: No problemo, Bartdude!
[Otto runs small car off the road] Hans MolemanBart: I just made the final payment!
(Or pretty close to that.)
If that were only true. It's not about trust. It's about control. It's about Bill thinking he has the right to tell what you can and can not do with your computer.
The important thing to remember about Bill Gates is that he is a comlete control freak. He feels compelled to control everything he can. He is acting out the nerd's revenge against the world that shunned him as a teen.
I think the big question is why would consumers choose to buy DRM-crippled Windows versus non DRM-crippled Windows?
For 90%+ of the computer using populous that's not even a valid question. Unlike us, most users don't care. All they care about is that it works. They simply don't see this as an issue. Period.
MCA was IBM's ham-fisted attempt to regain control over the hardware. But it was already too late. Between MS writing DOS and Windows to be compaitible with just about any PC-Compatible, and Compaq beating them to the punch with the 80386 (IBM said no one would need such power, Compaq knew otherwise) and the previoulsy open nature of the PC, they were doomed from the start.
IBM was trying to close the barn door long after all of the livestock had escaped.
The situation is different with Microsoft. Microsoft, for all practical intents and purposes, OWNS the desktop market with over 90% of all PCs running one flavor of Windows. If the marketplace does not all-out reject this platform it will do two important things for MS:
1: Lock Linux/*BSD/Whatever else off of these systems. Forever.
2: Eliminate pirated software. Period.
You can bet your ass that if MS puts in code signing for the OS, they will do it for the applications and those applications will NEED to phone home in order to work.
Remember, MS doesn't just want to stamp out Linix, they also want to stamp out software piracy. This platform will let them do both.
XP MCE is a "failure" (the jury is still out on that one) because the harware it is tied to is too expensive at the moment.
But you obviously don't get the point of MCE. MCE was never designed for just anyone to install on their computers. It was designed to be very platform specefic. It only supports a limited set of hardware on purpose. It only supports what MS knows will *work*.
The don't want Joe User to install XP MCE on some WalMart special with some half-assed video capture card that they've not tested and certified. They don't want the support nightmare that owould create. XP MCE is NOT a general purpose OS and was not designed to be.
As for these Athens PCs, they are right on the money. You buy an Athens PC and you get Windows XP-Athens. And that's the only OS you can run on that box. They don't give a damn about getting you to buy XP-Athens and put it on your Walmart special. They care about locking down all computers in the future. This isn't about selling a new OS to the unwashed masses. This is about locking those unwashed masses in with no way out.
Well, no shit, Sparky! You figure that out on your own or did you get help?
Symantec/McAffee et al are capitalizing on Windows being prone to virii.
Opera is capitalizing on the fact that people are getting sick of IE.
Game publishers are capitalizing on the fact that people get bored and want to play games.
Logitech is capitalizing on the fact that we all need mice to use our comuters.
AMD is capitalizing on the fact that many people think Intel chips cost too much.
Programmers are capitalizing on the fact that they can write software and other people can not.
That's what capitalism is all about. You supply a service or product that other people need or want. You make it good enough to do the job and sell it at a price the public is willing to pay and you might just make money at it. There isn't anything wrong with solving problems for a fair price.
Your employer is not stupid. He/she/them is/are scared. While they might not know that Linux has only one or two virii, or that having a computer not connected to the LAN makes it harmless to other systems (mostly) they DO know that a virus just hosed them. Your employer is not run by techs, it is run by bussiness people. They were not hired for their computer competence, but theoir management abilities (if they have any, but that's another rant).
If they are smart enough to demand virus scanners on every computer in the company they are not stupid. The stupid ones just go one with business and hope the virus doesn't come back.
I would no more expect management to make the best software decisions than I would expect you to be able to hire and fire employees.
The Administration doesn't seem to concerned with domestic terrorism at all. They haven't expended much energy at all in dealing with the people bombing abortion clinics or churches with black congregations.
Nope, can't take action against the reactionary white "Christains" here at home.
"a mysterious probe from space will blast a swath of destruction across North and Central America, causing epic explosions and annihilating everything between Florida and Venezuela,"
Hey! We get to meet V'Ger!. No, it's that whale probe! No, it's the Borg Queen! No, it's... been done to death.
Earth will destroy their home world 400 years in the future.
Yeah, because they Nuked Disneyland!
"We find out that the Xindi space probe was merely a test and that they are creating an even more powerful weapon,"
Oh Nos! They're bringing out MegaWeapon! Quick, drive Capt. Archer's motorcycle under it!
dangerous Delphic Expanse, likened to the Bermuda Triangle, causes those who enter to "become anatomically inverted (skin on the inside, organs on the outside).
Kill me. Just flipping kill me so I don't accidently tune into this trash while surfing for reruns of Gilligan's Planet.
And what improvements do they have in store for us?
the Enterprise NX-01 will be "retrofitted for war"
Uh, hu. Do the new weapons work this time?
'T'Pol', as a result of resigning from the Vulcan High Command, "will sport a new cat suit and hairdo next season."
Oh, boy! Will it be something low-cut so we can see some cleavage? How about a tighter backside? How about see-through? That ought to boost ratings!
They should have let the franchise die when DS9 ended.
Re:This is scary, or is it just over-reaction?
on
Brain Privacy
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· Score: 1
And I've turned down jobs that wanted to test me for drugs. And I will turn down any future jobs that require it. My body and what I do with it outside of my employer's time is my business and my business alone. Until the CEO pisses in a cup and lets me fire his sorry ass for his five martini liunch, I'm not doing it.
I think they got off rather light. What those kids were doing was illegal and they knew it. They could have gotten much stiffer fines, or even time in jail.
Re:The Spartans
on
Brain Privacy
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
I'd post anonymously if I posted that drivel, too. The problem isn't trust, it's homophobia. As long as straights suffer an irrational fear that every gay man is going to rape them or seduce them (and God forbid that you actually like it!) your comment is true. When you realize that it's Sgt Butch, who has saved your life ten times, carried your broken and bloody body ten miles to the aid station and taken a bullet to save another wounded soldiers life is gay, and Pvt. Chauncy is just some slightly effemenite, but totally straight man, that you find out what an ass you really are.
And no, I'm not gay. I have known gays all my life, and have been in situations where my safety, and even my life, has been in the hands of homosexuals. At no point was my trust in their ability compromised.
The Spartans
on
Brain Privacy
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
Could soldiers be screened for homosexuality?
You know what's really funny about this? The most feared army in Greek times, the Spartans, were all gay. Many of them fighting shoulder to shoulder with their lovers.
Re:This is scary, or is it just over-reaction?
on
Brain Privacy
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
You want to test my blood/urine/etc... for drugs? Get a search warrant or get the hell out. My body is more private than my house. People put up with random/compulsery drug tests because they have been brainwashed by the whole "War on Drugs" debacle that it is a Good Thing to test people with no Probable Cause whatsoever.
Brain scanning like this, combined with genetic testing will create a tiered populous with those deemd "fit" (and deemed by who, exactly?) at the top, and the great unwashed masses at the bottom.
It seems almost inevitable that humanity keeps trying to organize itself into the lords and the serfs.
I remember the whole Green Card Lottery mess. The collective howling and gnashing of teeth was pretty intense. Canter and Siegel got booted from at least ten ISPs from what I remember.
Slashdot Mirror
It matters if we decide to go there. If that bacteria turns out to be deadly to earth-based life (highly unlikely, but you never know) we'd best know before we get there. It also matters if it evolved completely independant of life on earth as it will give us clues to teh variety that life can assume. In all of our studies we have investigated life that is all from the same place, from the very same final ancestor, from the same stock. This limits our understanding of life to just what works here on earth.
What would lead you to that belief? All life needs to exist is the right materials, many of them quite plentiful in the universe; the right conditions, which Mars might not have had, but which many other places in the universe probably did; and enough time to get things done, again, Mars might not have provided.
As it is we have only looked at nine planets out of the possible trillions in the universe. How can we say that life has only existed here? Sure, we can not say for certain that life has or does exist elsewhere, but that's more a lack of evidence than proof.
And just looking at the pervasive nature of life, the fact that it will live anywhere it can makes me believe that it exists elsewhere if conditions allow.
The Co-Co was the Tandy (Radio Shack) Color Computer (sold in England as the Dragon). It was a 997KHz 6809 based computer. If you were uber-macho you could get a disk drive for it and run OS/9, a Unix-like OS that was quite fun. I had a 64KB Co-Co 2 for a few years. Very fun little machine. I sold it to someone who needed a cheap control system.
Actually, I know a LOT of people, both technically inclined and no, who refuse to upgrade to Windows XP, or who have actiively "downgraded" from Windows XP. Most are quite happy to sit on Win2K.
And a lot of those people also have refused to upgrade to Windows Media Player 9 because of the clauses in the EULA that give MS the right to fist you in the ass without your consent.
Right now Joe Sixpack doesn't know or care about thise crap. But that is starting to change. Whether the change will be far-reaching enough soon-enough to make a difference is another thing.
It would not surprise me to see Apple becoming the long-term winner if public resentment of MS continues to grow at the rates I'm seeing.
Bart Simpson: Otto! There's a gremlin on the side of the bus!
Otto Mann: No problemo, Bartdude!
[Otto runs small car off the road]
Hans MolemanBart: I just made the final payment!
(Or pretty close to that.)
If that were only true. It's not about trust. It's about control. It's about Bill thinking he has the right to tell what you can and can not do with your computer.
The important thing to remember about Bill Gates is that he is a comlete control freak. He feels compelled to control everything he can. He is acting out the nerd's revenge against the world that shunned him as a teen.
For 90%+ of the computer using populous that's not even a valid question. Unlike us, most users don't care. All they care about is that it works. They simply don't see this as an issue. Period.
if it used Open Source.
MCA was IBM's ham-fisted attempt to regain control over the hardware. But it was already too late. Between MS writing DOS and Windows to be compaitible with just about any PC-Compatible, and Compaq beating them to the punch with the 80386 (IBM said no one would need such power, Compaq knew otherwise) and the previoulsy open nature of the PC, they were doomed from the start.
IBM was trying to close the barn door long after all of the livestock had escaped.
The situation is different with Microsoft. Microsoft, for all practical intents and purposes, OWNS the desktop market with over 90% of all PCs running one flavor of Windows. If the marketplace does not all-out reject this platform it will do two important things for MS:
1: Lock Linux/*BSD/Whatever else off of these systems. Forever.
2: Eliminate pirated software. Period.
You can bet your ass that if MS puts in code signing for the OS, they will do it for the applications and those applications will NEED to phone home in order to work.
Remember, MS doesn't just want to stamp out Linix, they also want to stamp out software piracy. This platform will let them do both.
XP MCE is a "failure" (the jury is still out on that one) because the harware it is tied to is too expensive at the moment.
But you obviously don't get the point of MCE. MCE was never designed for just anyone to install on their computers. It was designed to be very platform specefic. It only supports a limited set of hardware on purpose. It only supports what MS knows will *work*.
The don't want Joe User to install XP MCE on some WalMart special with some half-assed video capture card that they've not tested and certified. They don't want the support nightmare that owould create. XP MCE is NOT a general purpose OS and was not designed to be.
As for these Athens PCs, they are right on the money. You buy an Athens PC and you get Windows XP-Athens. And that's the only OS you can run on that box. They don't give a damn about getting you to buy XP-Athens and put it on your Walmart special. They care about locking down all computers in the future. This isn't about selling a new OS to the unwashed masses. This is about locking those unwashed masses in with no way out.
Well, no shit, Sparky! You figure that out on your own or did you get help?
- Symantec/McAffee et al are capitalizing on Windows being prone to virii.
- Opera is capitalizing on the fact that people are getting sick of IE.
- Game publishers are capitalizing on the fact that people get bored and want to play games.
- Logitech is capitalizing on the fact that we all need mice to use our comuters.
- AMD is capitalizing on the fact that many people think Intel chips cost too much.
- Programmers are capitalizing on the fact that they can write software and other people can not.
That's what capitalism is all about. You supply a service or product that other people need or want. You make it good enough to do the job and sell it at a price the public is willing to pay and you might just make money at it. There isn't anything wrong with solving problems for a fair price.Your employer is not stupid. He/she/them is/are scared. While they might not know that Linux has only one or two virii, or that having a computer not connected to the LAN makes it harmless to other systems (mostly) they DO know that a virus just hosed them. Your employer is not run by techs, it is run by bussiness people. They were not hired for their computer competence, but theoir management abilities (if they have any, but that's another rant).
If they are smart enough to demand virus scanners on every computer in the company they are not stupid. The stupid ones just go one with business and hope the virus doesn't come back.
I would no more expect management to make the best software decisions than I would expect you to be able to hire and fire employees.
The Administration doesn't seem to concerned with domestic terrorism at all. They haven't expended much energy at all in dealing with the people bombing abortion clinics or churches with black congregations.
Nope, can't take action against the reactionary white "Christains" here at home.
That was the British Army, not the Canadian Army. Canada didn't exsit as a nation at that time.
At least try to have a better grasp of history than us Americans.
What's even more disturbing is the fact that they use a Flesh Light as a gimbal mount to support that keyboard.
What if your MS TP blue screens on you? How will you wipe your tukkus then?
Grommet! It's the rong JATO! And it's gone wrong!
Trek jumped the shark when Voyager started.
- "a mysterious probe from space will blast a swath of destruction across North and Central America, causing epic explosions and annihilating everything between Florida and Venezuela,"
... been done to death.
- Earth will destroy their home world 400 years in the future.
- "We find out that the Xindi space probe was merely a test and that they are creating an even more powerful weapon,"
- dangerous Delphic Expanse, likened to the Bermuda Triangle, causes those who enter to "become anatomically inverted (skin on the inside, organs on the outside).
And what improvements do they have in store for us?Hey! We get to meet V'Ger!. No, it's that whale probe! No, it's the Borg Queen! No, it's
Yeah, because they Nuked Disneyland!
Oh Nos! They're bringing out MegaWeapon! Quick, drive Capt. Archer's motorcycle under it!
Kill me. Just flipping kill me so I don't accidently tune into this trash while surfing for reruns of Gilligan's Planet.
- the Enterprise NX-01 will be "retrofitted for war"
- 'T'Pol', as a result of resigning from the Vulcan High Command, "will sport a new cat suit and hairdo next season."
They should have let the franchise die when DS9 ended.Uh, hu. Do the new weapons work this time?
Oh, boy! Will it be something low-cut so we can see some cleavage? How about a tighter backside? How about see-through? That ought to boost ratings!
And I've turned down jobs that wanted to test me for drugs. And I will turn down any future jobs that require it. My body and what I do with it outside of my employer's time is my business and my business alone. Until the CEO pisses in a cup and lets me fire his sorry ass for his five martini liunch, I'm not doing it.
I think they got off rather light. What those kids were doing was illegal and they knew it. They could have gotten much stiffer fines, or even time in jail.
I'd post anonymously if I posted that drivel, too. The problem isn't trust, it's homophobia. As long as straights suffer an irrational fear that every gay man is going to rape them or seduce them (and God forbid that you actually like it!) your comment is true. When you realize that it's Sgt Butch, who has saved your life ten times, carried your broken and bloody body ten miles to the aid station and taken a bullet to save another wounded soldiers life is gay, and Pvt. Chauncy is just some slightly effemenite, but totally straight man, that you find out what an ass you really are.
And no, I'm not gay. I have known gays all my life, and have been in situations where my safety, and even my life, has been in the hands of homosexuals. At no point was my trust in their ability compromised.
You know what's really funny about this? The most feared army in Greek times, the Spartans, were all gay. Many of them fighting shoulder to shoulder with their lovers.
You want to test my blood/urine/etc... for drugs? Get a search warrant or get the hell out. My body is more private than my house. People put up with random/compulsery drug tests because they have been brainwashed by the whole "War on Drugs" debacle that it is a Good Thing to test people with no Probable Cause whatsoever.
Brain scanning like this, combined with genetic testing will create a tiered populous with those deemd "fit" (and deemed by who, exactly?) at the top, and the great unwashed masses at the bottom.
It seems almost inevitable that humanity keeps trying to organize itself into the lords and the serfs.
I remember the whole Green Card Lottery mess. The collective howling and gnashing of teeth was pretty intense. Canter and Siegel got booted from at least ten ISPs from what I remember.