...it will be able to gather imagery with details the size of 41 centimeters... Google, though, is permitted to use data only with a resolution of 50 cm...
I'm not really sure how this breaks down in terms of what I can actually SEE. Since current imagery lets us sorta see people, I'd like to know how much further along are we to seeing _a person_.
Can anyone provide a little more detail, maybe a good example.
And please - no examples using libraries of congress worth of hogsheads of dat tape traveling in the back of station wagons or any somesuch..!;)
This isn't a tech site anymore, it's a political site.
Hmm, parent=Insightfull? Maybe but I don't know about that; at least not in the manner in which parent's tone suggests. My recollection is that the whole purpose of technology is to free up time and resources or to make ~existing~ more efficient - to the benefit of the user of the tech.
See for example: Teeth are supplemented by flint knife. The flint knife is supplanted by a steel hacksaw which itself is eventually supplanted by a laser-cutter, etc. Each step gives us a larger variety of material on which we can work and reduces the time factors involved. As a result we have more time which may be dedicated to other tasks we need or want to do.
Now apply that to the tech we see and discuss here on/. and what we see isn't the same. Sure we see faster processors, more memory/storage or whatever. Yes we see magnetic media becoming flash, optics supplanting electrics but instead of empowering the users of the tech we see DRM, "licensing" schemes, locked-down and locked-up devices whose manufacturers build in phone-home behaviour and so on and so forth.
How exactly does any of that empower the users? Where is the benefit of yet again, yet again..? Etc! I would postulate that instead of "turning into a political site", this has always been one. Since at it's root, politics is nothing more than the discussion of power and those who wield it and tech is one of the greatest sources.
No, you right-wing retard, it is called common sense. If the government or anyone else provides it for no charge, it is by definition free. Mentioning that a good or service is free to the person receiving it does not imply that the good or service materialised out of thin air or is not paid for at some other point along the chain. I'm not trying to be inflammatory but frankly, with that kind of argument it seems you're more likely the retard than he. You clearly have forgotten the purpose of government and the manner in which it is supposed to go about doing that purpose. The basic premise of government is to form a collective which is empowered by "people" to run certain affairs on their behalf, right? And the manner of providing funding is typically through control of the land/air/sea/etc resources and of late - taxation and more taxation. That means that anything, ANYTHING for which tax moneys and government revenues were applied are paid services. Garbage collection, road work or that trip to the hospital - as long as I've paid my taxes then I've paid for those services. Kinda reminds me of my cell phone plan - they charge me for service monthly but I'm always invoiced a month ahead.. That means they have my cash in hand for a month before it is applied to the services it was billed as. And if I use less time you can be sure they do not credit me but heaven help me if I should go over my air-time allowances . And don't get me started about road and infrastructure. Canadian gas has 50% tax added to the price under laws which speak of road and highway maintenance and such but which conveniently allows for the cash to go into general coffers rather than a road-related account system.
Oh - I checked http//dictionary.com and the most closely related definitions to this thread, of the word "free": (Not ordered) 1. exempt or released from something specified that controls, restrains, burdens, etc. (usually fol. by from or of): free from worry; free of taxes. 2. provided without, or not subject to, a charge or payment: free parking; a free sample. 3. given without consideration of a return or reward: a free offer of legal advice.
Hmm, so far we're not doing so well. It is common record that if you don't pay your taxes then hello jail cell, and since taxes are the primary source of funding for government projects - number 1 clearly does not apply. Well, they want a service charge added to fund this above and beyond the basic taxes I already pay - so number 2 is out. As for number 3 - when was the last time any forward-looking project was undertaken by government without the idea of winning votes? I can't recall any instance of that.
So I see nothing here but proof of the old adage, "ain't no such thing as a free lunch"..
No need to say "if" - there is evidence out now to support your statements.
Presumably everyone has heard of the "taser" device, a nice little shock and your perp is subdued. Sounds like a great idea - since no one has to be shot to put them down the whole "blood and lawsuits" problem goes away. Only problem is that as more and more taser incidents have occurred we've seen some very negative scenarios. The stories I've read about include shock induced heart-attacks and internal injuries/burns. If I recall correctly it happened to perps with and without pacemakers as well as a couple of guys who were so high that they needed multiple zaps.
Who knows what if any neural damage might result from this new "neuralizer", effects not intended but still.. So I think that the status quo is preferable,
Frankly the very first thing I thought after reading your comment was - you've never been overweight or are just not bright. Ok maybe that isn't fair and I'm just in a bad way from hearing a blanket statements such as
No genes.. No viruses.. Not what your friend does.. Not what your family does.. It's what you choose to do. Period. If your metabolism slows down, eat less, exercise more - as long as your body isn't so badly out of shape that taking 3 steps will kill you. But that's probably the result of 20 years being overweight (~235lbs) without attributable cause. I eat properly with only rare cheats (one snack once a month max) and I exercise regularly. At one point my metabolism was so high that I radiated enough heat that you could feel it if you stood close. That was the result of 6-day/wk training with large weights and heavy cardio. I do have my ebbs and peaks on the fitness front but guess what, even at my previous peak when I was able to run 7KM/h for 45 min straight and bench press 350lbs, I was still not able to get weight below 207lbs or body-fat reading below 20% . I should have been able to since I'm nominally supposed to weigh in the range of 180 according to the experts..
So clearly something genetic must be in play. I would say it seems the nature/nurture debate is back on - though it is possible to control or at least minimize the nurture in this specific case and while I do not specifically support or deny the research; at least it's being done!
replying to an a/c - cripes but what the hell.. I'm not sure if you mean the parent or me, but I for one never made any sort of argument concerning "right" or "moral" or any other such thing. The only thing I see here is that the more people buy into the hype the more this kind of crap occurs and it ends up being a vicious circle..
Best to treat it like gum on your shoe - scrape it off and keep walking.
Hell ya - who f*n cares if it was leaked? No, I don't mean publishers/author and them folks but fans. You see if a fan doesn't want to know the ending then they can NOT LOOK/READ/DOWNLOAD whatever, and wait for the real book to come out and just read it. It's not like being at the movies and hearing the twits in the show before you discussing the killer movie-moment as they walk past you at the theatre..
Now I've yet to read even a single one of the books, but I have enjoyed the movies and will watch every single one that comes out. Heck I even intend on buying whatever box-set of the books becomes available in the near future. Does it bother me that I'll "know" the story beforehand, NO. know why? The same ability I and most every other movie watcher has/has developed. You know the one which allows me to watch the friken movie version - the whole "suspension of disbelief" thing. I mean really, would you _ever_ be able to reread or even HAVE a favorite book if you couldn't turn that on and off as needed.. ? And if you have that ability in the first place then it really doesn't matter.. man I've lost count of how many times I've read the same book or series of from a variety of authors and I still love it each and every time.
There is nothing compelling about e-books. Nothing. As someone who has 1500+ books in my house..
And as someone with well over 5000 books in my collection I feel otherwise. I will never give up on paper-based media, but there is real potential for ebooks to suppliment(sp?) the experience in ways never possible before. Someone else mentioned interactivity, sound, images.. Or - recall that one of the biggies about DVD movies is the idea of picking scenes. Wouldn't it be neat to explore the *What if* concept most of us apply while reading a story? (Staying on topic)What if Harry actually dies? Or maybe *what if* Gandalf accepted the Ring of Power from Frodo- what if what if.. Ebooks could lay out the author's story as the equivalent of the "DVD Director's cut" and then provide extra material to play these games.
There are definately other real benefits. I read quickly - very quickly, over 2000 words per minute quickly. I'd love it if I could buy a paper book and get the ebook copy for $1-3 extra - locked to me alone even. Have you any idea of how painfull it is for me to bring a tome sized book along (War and Peace anyone?) for even a simple road trip and finish it before arriving at my destination only hours away? Then then to be bored crazy on my return? With ebook I could have multiples of books waiting for my attention.. And how about favorites quotes? I bet everyone recognizes "One Ring to rule them all..", but can anyone tell me the exact context of "..." kind of ability seems pretty cool to me..
Why not take this the step further, and build a dyson sphere?
After all, there's not a massive tech leap between able to terraform (a la Star Trek genesis device) and building such a massive undertaking as the dyson sphere. Of course, the question then becomes one of supply. Does it really make sense to use all that material to build when it could instead be used directly for some venture or the other...
Y'know, so much of the debate becomes like yours: Silly over-generalizing by folks who can't be bothered to tell one issue from the next.
Or, maybe the real problem are the asses who always call other people's concerns "silly" and "over-generalizing" while failing to address the root issue(s) spawning the concerns. The parent to this thread compares building a router to bioengineering. My response was very specific and addressed *why* some of us are uncomfortable almost to paranoia with ACT "et al".
I'm not a rahrah person but is an honest, realistic discussion too much to ask for?
While I'm not by profession a biologist, having a family background in agro likely makes me at least AS capable of understanding the differences between these issues as anyone. The problem is that realistic discussion is not possible without facts and truth, things that seem in very short supply thanks to profiteers and corporatist agendas.
I'd love to have an open usefull dialogue on this, but to take these folks on their word when profit is the only incentive.. I think not.
* For the computer-centric folks... Nobody has ethical concerns if Cisco announces a routing breakthrough unlike biotech announcing a grown organ but it's really the same business model applied to a different field.
Well - no it isn't. Excluding the aspect of the manufacturing and reclamation processes which admittedly need much work to be enviro-friendly, in the core business of an I.T company like Cisco there is not a single negative *biological* ramification. Companies like this ACT and even worse Monsanto are effectively playing god with the potential to destroy the entire human race and our ecosystem along with it.
Do I think there are positive aspects to this research - damn straight. However - how immoral is it to do these kinds of scientific experiments and then lock the results and process details aways from those of us that will suffer is something does go wrong; all in the name of profit...? It may not have been a great movie, and may have been alarmist at best but - Jonny Mnemonic, anyone?
And to top it all off, timothy's comment I guess we'll see down the road if this is legit or the increasingly common `Science by Press Release.'" seems a whole lotta hypocrisy. What exactly is slashdot doing by posting about this, if not given some credence to the whole "press release" thing.. If we are trying to avoid "credence by press release" we should have waited until some evidence or research or SOMETHING was presented before we even had this conversation, sheesh..
Go ahead - keep Outlook users from reading your mail. Write in L337 if you want and keep people over the age of 17 from reading your mail. Heck, write in Swedish! Do you suppose my desire to read your deathless prose will make me learn Swedish?
So what would *l33t-swedish* look like? If anything, my guess is certainly no worse than some of the better written perl code I've seen while trying to learn it(perl). And I must say - the *weird* factor might even be enough for me to give it a try..
Windows 3.1 commemorative phone cards ("Relieve the special magic with every call you make!")
and realized it would make sense over the stalls in the washrooms..but that I wouldn't want to be around when some other guy was "relieving" his *magic* in a public restroom..
A compression algorithm may not be perfect (it usually has to add some info to tell how the original data was compressed).
Well - why? Granted I'm no expert on this topic but; isn't that because current algorithms manipulate the data stream differently based on some preconception of "best" manner for each *chunk of X length*(ie: block of repetitive data)?
Why couldn't it be possible to have the a single algorythmic solution that works on the entire dataset simultaneously?
Pardon my math but, let's use "AAABBBCD"(8 characters) as the example data.
Traditional methods would turn that into "3A3BCD", reducing it by 2 - correct?
What is it that prevents this from being mapped to a preexiting multidimensional table/grid (I'll use the english alphabet here) If we use position of the output data as a predetermined element of the equation then..
"A-B-C-D-E.." etc as out table, could have the data then overlayed as 3311 equaling 4 characters.
Re:Time for a new Continental Congress
on
The Eyes Have It
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· Score: 2
err - no.
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it
It says abolish, which means a hugely different thing from overthrow.
Let's just make sure we don't confuse Gates' (and Ballmer's and Allen's, etc.) own personal philanthropy with Microsoft Inc.'s brazen attempt to disguise a marketing ploy as a philanthropic endeavor
Some would do just that. - but I agree with you. Where do you draw the line? After all, the three you mentioned are the very same people who make the decision that MS should slip the k-y to everyone it can; an attitude that perpetuates down the hierarchy and into the rank-file. And as such, it's far more likely that Bill's "generosity" comes from a misguided attempt to make up for a lack of business ethics, and general moral compass. As top dogs these guys could be settings positive standards but choose otherwise. No shareholder would complain if profits were *only* 5 billion where the company was seen as a positive force in the industry vs the current EVIL EMPIRE attitude but making 6 billion..
I've watched Andromeda in it's entirety. The first season was definately arranged around a far more complex plot (per episode) than the new 2nd season. But you know what - I still like the show.
If anyone can remember back to when shows like "Gunsmoke" and "Bonanza" ruled the airwaves, you'd notice the similarities between them and Andromeda immediately. There's that deep announcer-type voice over for the opening, that grand idea of "taming" the hinterlands and a cast whose story revolved mostly around their "homestead". Then we have the fact thatthe characters are almost one-to-one. For example, the leader and visionary would mean Dylan Hunt can be equated to Ben Cartwright, the "cute" Trance would probably be Little Joe, and so on. Then there's the fact that all episodes (except maybe season finale/premier) are an hour or less and the episode is mostly self contained. Finally, you can add in the gun fights, which seem pretty much bang on to those moments when we see those neat "force-lances", and the horse'n'buggy stuff matches right up to the Andromeda's crew using the Eureka Maru to go off on whatever "mission" is necessary..
All in all, it looks like we're back to the *serial-western*, except in space. So I'd say what's really been done is to revert to the core of TV history - simple mindless entertainment with no strings attached.
I tend to agree with you, that some people forget the idea of an RPG is to loosen up and have fun.
Reminds me of a character I once had for AD&D (I think that was the system anyway)..Played him as a total psyco, very accurately for his alignment and such. During one "adventure" I had him take a whiz out over the balustrade/windows in the ruler's castle during a war meeting - right on to the heads of passing peasants..
Now THAT gave the dm/gm some real interesting material to work with..
still-pending copyright issues between Sony and Fox concerning certain Tick characters and trademarks ("Spoon!")
this begins to look like having a "Superman" television show where he doesn't have a cape on while "in action". That is to say, it's mostly but not - *there*.
How do you cope with losing vital elements that made this such an amusing world, while the suits battle it out over copyright issues?
the secretary spills a cup of coffee on the router or the chief engineer urinates drunkenly on the packet switcher, you can't tell how your network will perform.
Damn, but I'm glad I don't do I.T support in your office!
Of course- if those are common occurances around your neck of the woods, I expect hardware performance problems are the least of your worries..
Wish I could say that were true, but the statement was based on the various Muslim (organizations/groups/factions?) specifically vocalizing their intent to do just that and more to all the Jewish *entities* in the ME.
With Sharon it is an assumption because he's never come out and said such "Yes, that's it.".
Re:Actually...
on
Globalization
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· Score: 2, Insightful
You miss out one important step. The violence started the day that Sharon forced his way into the Mosque on the temple mount.
Factually incorrect on three levels.
First - Sharon had no need to "force" his way anywhere. While obviously not a Muslim, the reality here is no different than when a non-Christian enters a church in that he has as much right to enter as does any other member of a democratic society. Second, that mosque is built on the remains of the Jewish temples.. If it were the other way around, I can guarantee you that the Muslims would have torn it down.
Third is the truth that the violence started a long time before that. Arafat may be the "Chairman" of the PA now, but how do you think he began his "illustrious career"..
Sharon's behaviour was a deliberate attempt to incite a violent reaction which he calculated would be to his personal political advantage.
Quite possible; but last I checked mind-reading hadn't become reality as yet so I at least must refrain from making statements such as yours.
But then how do you explain Arafat and his lack of activity in regards to dealing with the terror groups such Hamas and Islamic Jihad? It wasn't until the U.S came down hard on him that any action was seen by the PA to reign them in.
if you the ISP can change the code, how can it be insured that the software hasn't been tinkered with, to produce in-accurate results
Certainly an interesting point. But then we can ask the question, does source equal binary? I think it's reasonable to say that any changes to the source code can be detected by differences in the binary output. In this type of situation I think the value of having open code is the ability to audit the system. Of I'm with the author of this thread's parent - why exactly is an OPEN-SOURCE carnivore more acceptable..??
True but it won't be *new* for long though - will it? I may not be running Apple hardware these days (unless - are IIe 's supported?) but I love the idea of it being available immediately. The sooner an alternative comes around the more likely it is to be perceived as "competition". That's probably the key point since we've seen just how unlikely companies are to innovate when there's a competitive void. And the MORE competition then the more consumers as a whole will benefit.
Slashdot Mirror
...it will be able to gather imagery with details the size of 41 centimeters... Google, though, is permitted to use data only with a resolution of 50 cm...
I'm not really sure how this breaks down in terms of what I can actually SEE. Since current imagery lets us sorta see people, I'd like to know how much further along are we to seeing _a person_.
Can anyone provide a little more detail, maybe a good example.
And please - no examples using libraries of congress worth of hogsheads of dat tape traveling in the back of station wagons or any somesuch..! ;)
Hmm, parent=Insightfull? Maybe but I don't know about that; at least not in the manner in which parent's tone suggests.
My recollection is that the whole purpose of technology is to free up time and resources or to make ~existing~ more efficient - to the benefit of the user of the tech.
See for example:
Teeth are supplemented by flint knife. The flint knife is supplanted by a steel hacksaw which itself is eventually supplanted by a laser-cutter, etc. Each step gives us a larger variety of material on which we can work and reduces the time factors involved. As a result we have more time which may be dedicated to other tasks we need or want to do.
Now apply that to the tech we see and discuss here on
How exactly does any of that empower the users? Where is the benefit of yet again, yet again..? Etc!
I would postulate that instead of "turning into a political site", this has always been one. Since at it's root, politics is nothing more than the discussion of power and those who wield it and tech is one of the greatest sources.
The first thing your comment brought to mind was more along the lines of a VERY naughty Skype video conference with your girlfriend/wife...
But of course as the joke goes, this is slashdot - what's a girlfriend/wife??!
You clearly have forgotten the purpose of government and the manner in which it is supposed to go about doing that purpose.
The basic premise of government is to form a collective which is empowered by "people" to run certain affairs on their behalf, right? And the manner of providing funding is typically through control of the land/air/sea/etc resources and of late - taxation and more taxation. That means that anything, ANYTHING for which tax moneys and government revenues were applied are paid services. Garbage collection, road work or that trip to the hospital - as long as I've paid my taxes then I've paid for those services. Kinda reminds me of my cell phone plan - they charge me for service monthly but I'm always invoiced a month ahead.. That means they have my cash in hand for a month before it is applied to the services it was billed as. And if I use less time you can be sure they do not credit me but heaven help me if I should go over my air-time allowances .
And don't get me started about road and infrastructure. Canadian gas has 50% tax added to the price under laws which speak of road and highway maintenance and such but which conveniently allows for the cash to go into general coffers rather than a road-related account system.
Oh - I checked http//dictionary.com and the most closely related definitions to this thread, of the word "free":
(Not ordered)
1. exempt or released from something specified that controls, restrains, burdens, etc. (usually fol. by from or of): free from worry; free of taxes.
2. provided without, or not subject to, a charge or payment: free parking; a free sample.
3. given without consideration of a return or reward: a free offer of legal advice.
Hmm, so far we're not doing so well. It is common record that if you don't pay your taxes then hello jail cell, and since taxes are the primary source of funding for government projects - number 1 clearly does not apply.
Well, they want a service charge added to fund this above and beyond the basic taxes I already pay - so number 2 is out.
As for number 3 - when was the last time any forward-looking project was undertaken by government without the idea of winning votes? I can't recall any instance of that.
So I see nothing here but proof of the old adage, "ain't no such thing as a free lunch"..
No need to say "if" - there is evidence out now to support your statements.
Presumably everyone has heard of the "taser" device, a nice little shock and your perp is subdued. Sounds like a great idea - since no one has to be shot to put them down the whole "blood and lawsuits" problem goes away. Only problem is that as more and more taser incidents have occurred we've seen some very negative scenarios. The stories I've read about include shock induced heart-attacks and internal injuries/burns. If I recall correctly it happened to perps with and without pacemakers as well as a couple of guys who were so high that they needed multiple zaps.
Who knows what if any neural damage might result from this new "neuralizer", effects not intended but still..
So I think that the status quo is preferable,
It's what you choose to do. Period.
If your metabolism slows down, eat less, exercise more - as long as your body isn't so badly out of shape that taking 3 steps will kill you. But that's probably the result of 20 years being overweight (~235lbs) without attributable cause. I eat properly with only rare cheats (one snack once a month max) and I exercise regularly. At one point my metabolism was so high that I radiated enough heat that you could feel it if you stood close. That was the result of 6-day/wk training with large weights and heavy cardio. I do have my ebbs and peaks on the fitness front but guess what, even at my previous peak when I was able to run 7KM/h for 45 min straight and bench press 350lbs, I was still not able to get weight below 207lbs or body-fat reading below 20% . I should have been able to since I'm nominally supposed to weigh in the range of 180 according to the experts..
So clearly something genetic must be in play.
I would say it seems the nature/nurture debate is back on - though it is possible to control or at least minimize the nurture in this specific case and while I do not specifically support or deny the research; at least it's being done!
replying to an a/c - cripes but what the hell..
I'm not sure if you mean the parent or me, but I for one never made any sort of argument concerning "right" or "moral" or any other such thing. The only thing I see here is that the more people buy into the hype the more this kind of crap occurs and it ends up being a vicious circle..
Best to treat it like gum on your shoe - scrape it off and keep walking.
Hell ya - who f*n cares if it was leaked? No, I don't mean publishers/author and them folks but fans. You see if a fan doesn't want to know the ending then they can NOT LOOK/READ/DOWNLOAD whatever, and wait for the real book to come out and just read it. It's not like being at the movies and hearing the twits in the show before you discussing the killer movie-moment as they walk past you at the theatre..
Now I've yet to read even a single one of the books, but I have enjoyed the movies and will watch every single one that comes out. Heck I even intend on buying whatever box-set of the books becomes available in the near future. Does it bother me that I'll "know" the story beforehand, NO. know why? The same ability I and most every other movie watcher has/has developed. You know the one which allows me to watch the friken movie version - the whole "suspension of disbelief" thing. I mean really, would you _ever_ be able to reread or even HAVE a favorite book if you couldn't turn that on and off as needed.. ? And if you have that ability in the first place then it really doesn't matter.. man I've lost count of how many times I've read the same book or series of from a variety of authors and I still love it each and every time.
There is nothing compelling about e-books. Nothing. As someone who has 1500+ books in my house..
And as someone with well over 5000 books in my collection I feel otherwise. I will never give up on paper-based media, but there is real potential for ebooks to suppliment(sp?) the experience in ways never possible before. Someone else mentioned interactivity, sound, images..
Or - recall that one of the biggies about DVD movies is the idea of picking scenes. Wouldn't it be neat to explore the *What if* concept most of us apply while reading a story? (Staying on topic)What if Harry actually dies? Or maybe *what if* Gandalf accepted the Ring of Power from Frodo- what if what if.. Ebooks could lay out the author's story as the equivalent of the "DVD Director's cut" and then provide extra material to play these games.
There are definately other real benefits. I read quickly - very quickly, over 2000 words per minute quickly. I'd love it if I could buy a paper book and get the ebook copy for $1-3 extra - locked to me alone even. Have you any idea of how painfull it is for me to bring a tome sized book along (War and Peace anyone?) for even a simple road trip and finish it before arriving at my destination only hours away? Then then to be bored crazy on my return? With ebook I could have multiples of books waiting for my attention.. And how about favorites quotes? I bet everyone recognizes "One Ring to rule them all..", but can anyone tell me the exact context of "..." kind of ability seems pretty cool to me..
Why not take this the step further, and build a dyson sphere?
After all, there's not a massive tech leap between able to terraform (a la Star Trek genesis device) and building such a massive undertaking as the dyson sphere. Of course, the question then becomes one of supply. Does it really make sense to use all that material to build when it could instead be used directly for some venture or the other...
Y'know, so much of the debate becomes like yours: Silly over-generalizing by folks who can't be bothered to tell one issue from the next.
Or, maybe the real problem are the asses who always call other people's concerns "silly" and "over-generalizing" while failing to address the root issue(s) spawning the concerns. The parent to this thread compares building a router to bioengineering. My response was very specific and addressed *why* some of us are uncomfortable almost to paranoia with ACT "et al".
I'm not a rahrah person but is an honest, realistic discussion too much to ask for?
While I'm not by profession a biologist, having a family background in agro likely makes me at least AS capable of understanding the differences between these issues as anyone. The problem is that realistic discussion is not possible without facts and truth, things that seem in very short supply thanks to profiteers and corporatist agendas.
I'd love to have an open usefull dialogue on this, but to take these folks on their word when profit is the only incentive.. I think not.
* For the computer-centric folks... Nobody has ethical concerns if Cisco announces a routing breakthrough unlike biotech announcing a grown organ but it's really the same business model applied to a different field.
Well - no it isn't. Excluding the aspect of the manufacturing and reclamation processes which admittedly need much work to be enviro-friendly, in the core business of an I.T company like Cisco there is not a single negative *biological* ramification. Companies like this ACT and even worse Monsanto are effectively playing god with the potential to destroy the entire human race and our ecosystem along with it.
Do I think there are positive aspects to this research - damn straight. However - how immoral is it to do these kinds of scientific experiments and then lock the results and process details aways from those of us that will suffer is something does go wrong; all in the name of profit...? It may not have been a great movie, and may have been alarmist at best but - Jonny Mnemonic, anyone?
And to top it all off, timothy's comment
I guess we'll see down the road if this is legit or the increasingly common `Science by Press Release.'" seems a whole lotta hypocrisy. What exactly is slashdot doing by posting about this, if not given some credence to the whole "press release" thing.. If we are trying to avoid "credence by press release" we should have waited until some evidence or research or SOMETHING was presented before we even had this conversation, sheesh..
Go ahead - keep Outlook users from reading your mail. Write in L337 if you want and keep people over the age of 17 from reading your mail. Heck, write in Swedish! Do you suppose my desire to read your deathless prose will make me learn Swedish?
So what would *l33t-swedish* look like? If anything, my guess is certainly no worse than some of the better written perl code I've seen while trying to learn it(perl). And I must say - the *weird* factor might even be enough for me to give it a try..
Well for a second there I thought you wrote
Windows 3.1 commemorative phone cards ("Relieve the special magic with every call you make!")
and realized it would make sense over the stalls in the washrooms..but that I wouldn't want to be around when some other guy was "relieving" his *magic* in a public restroom..
A compression algorithm may not be perfect (it usually has to add some info to tell how the original data was compressed).
Well - why? Granted I'm no expert on this topic but; isn't that because current algorithms manipulate the data stream differently based on some preconception of "best" manner for each *chunk of X length*(ie: block of repetitive data)?
Why couldn't it be possible to have the a single algorythmic solution that works on the entire dataset simultaneously?
Pardon my math but, let's use "AAABBBCD"(8 characters) as the example data.
Traditional methods would turn that into "3A3BCD", reducing it by 2 - correct?
What is it that prevents this from being mapped to a preexiting multidimensional table/grid (I'll use the english alphabet here) If we use position of the output data as a predetermined element of the equation then..
"A-B-C-D-E.." etc as out table, could have the data then overlayed as 3311 equaling 4 characters.
err - no.
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it
It says abolish, which means a hugely different thing from overthrow.
Overthrow is definately NOT abolish.
Let's just make sure we don't confuse Gates' (and Ballmer's and Allen's, etc.) own personal philanthropy with Microsoft Inc.'s brazen attempt to disguise a marketing ploy as a philanthropic endeavor
Some would do just that. - but I agree with you. Where do you draw the line? After all, the three you mentioned are the very same people who make the decision that MS should slip the k-y to everyone it can; an attitude that perpetuates down the hierarchy and into the rank-file. And as such, it's far more likely that Bill's "generosity" comes from a misguided attempt to make up for a lack of business ethics, and general moral compass. As top dogs these guys could be settings positive standards but choose otherwise. No shareholder would complain if profits were *only* 5 billion where the company was seen as a positive force in the industry vs the current EVIL EMPIRE attitude but making 6 billion..
I've watched Andromeda in it's entirety. The first season was definately arranged around a far more complex plot (per episode) than the new 2nd season.
But you know what - I still like the show.
If anyone can remember back to when shows like "Gunsmoke" and "Bonanza" ruled the airwaves, you'd notice the similarities between them and Andromeda immediately. There's that deep announcer-type voice over for the opening, that grand idea of "taming" the hinterlands and a cast whose story revolved mostly around their "homestead". Then we have the fact thatthe characters are almost one-to-one. For example, the leader and visionary would mean Dylan Hunt can be equated to Ben Cartwright, the "cute" Trance would probably be Little Joe, and so on. Then there's the fact that all episodes (except maybe season finale/premier) are an hour or less and the episode is mostly self contained. Finally, you can add in the gun fights, which seem pretty much bang on to those moments when we see those neat "force-lances", and the horse'n'buggy stuff matches right up to the Andromeda's crew using the Eureka Maru to go off on whatever "mission" is necessary..
All in all, it looks like we're back to the *serial-western*, except in space. So I'd say what's really been done is to revert to the core of TV history - simple mindless entertainment with no strings attached.
I tend to agree with you, that some people forget the idea of an RPG is to loosen up and have fun.
Reminds me of a character I once had for AD&D (I think that was the system anyway)..Played him as a total psyco, very accurately for his alignment and such. During one "adventure" I had him take a whiz out over the balustrade/windows in the ruler's castle during a war meeting - right on to the heads of passing peasants..
Now THAT gave the dm/gm some real interesting material to work with..
being that there exists
still-pending copyright issues between Sony and Fox concerning certain Tick characters and trademarks ("Spoon!")
this begins to look like having a "Superman" television show where he doesn't have a cape on while "in action". That is to say, it's mostly but not - *there*.
How do you cope with losing vital elements that made this such an amusing world, while the suits battle it out over copyright issues?
the secretary spills a cup of coffee on the router or the chief engineer urinates drunkenly on the packet switcher, you can't tell how your network will perform.
Damn, but I'm glad I don't do I.T support in your office!
Of course- if those are common occurances around your neck of the woods, I expect hardware performance problems are the least of your worries..
Actually you just did.
Wish I could say that were true, but the statement was based on the various Muslim (organizations/groups/factions?) specifically vocalizing their intent to do just that and more to all the Jewish *entities* in the ME.
With Sharon it is an assumption because he's never come out and said such "Yes, that's it.".
You miss out one important step. The violence started the day that Sharon forced his way into the Mosque on the temple mount.
Factually incorrect on three levels.
First - Sharon had no need to "force" his way anywhere. While obviously not a Muslim, the reality here is no different than when a non-Christian enters a church in that he has as much right to enter as does any other member of a democratic society.
Second, that mosque is built on the remains of the Jewish temples.. If it were the other way around, I can guarantee you that the Muslims would have torn it down.
Third is the truth that the violence started a long time before that. Arafat may be the "Chairman" of the PA now, but how do you think he began his "illustrious career"..
Sharon's behaviour was a deliberate attempt to incite a violent reaction which he calculated would be to his personal political advantage.
Quite possible; but last I checked mind-reading hadn't become reality as yet so I at least must refrain from making statements such as yours.
But then how do you explain Arafat and his lack of activity in regards to dealing with the terror groups such Hamas and Islamic Jihad? It wasn't until the U.S came down hard on him that any action was seen by the PA to reign them in.
if you the ISP can change the code, how can it be insured that the software hasn't been tinkered with, to produce in-accurate results
Certainly an interesting point. But then we can ask the question, does source equal binary? I think it's reasonable to say that any changes to the source code can be detected by differences in the binary output. In this type of situation I think the value of having open code is the ability to audit the system.
Of I'm with the author of this thread's parent - why exactly is an OPEN-SOURCE carnivore more acceptable..??
Why would anyone run Linux on a new Apple though?
True but it won't be *new* for long though - will it?
I may not be running Apple hardware these days (unless - are IIe 's supported?) but I love the idea of it being available immediately. The sooner an alternative comes around the more likely it is to be perceived as "competition". That's probably the key point since we've seen just how unlikely companies are to innovate when there's a competitive void. And the MORE competition then the more consumers as a whole will benefit.
So I say to the YDL folks - Keep it up!!