Canada is looking better and better all the time. The US clearly is not the freest nation. I believe Thomas Jefferson is tossing in his grave. His expression, "Those that would give up liberty for security get none and deserve neither," says it all. Bush just wants to be an autocrat. Hopefully, the democrats will put the kibosh on this one.
I am no fan of this at all. We already have too many distractions for drivers making the roads increasingly unsafe. And each year there are more and more cars on the road. Cell phones ( and Blackberries), eating, and having the radio playing at the same time make driving very hazardous (for the driver and the other hapless drivers out there.) I don't really care if you can multitask because your focus should be on driving when you're behind the wheel. I don't want my life bet on your multitasking ability. The last thing a driver needs to be doing is surfing the web. If there could be a safety mechanism that will not allow useage while the vehicle is on the road, that is one thing. Toyota does this with some of its GPS units. You cannot manipulate them while the vehicle is moving.
Well, I am automatically skeptical because of the author. The author is known somewhat for wagon hopping and even a little bit of misdirection. I have read articles wherein he crucifies Linux and another where he praises it. I am not sure exactly where his loyalties lie. Others have observed that he just wants to stir up the waters or fan the flames.
Actually, this is a current problem because it is well known that on comcast, vonage service suffers greatly. Conversely, vonage on Road Runner and FIOS is excellent. I believe there is already anti-competitive behavior going on. Legislation will keep the playing field fair and equal. Can you imagine a two-tiered Internet? It would be incredibly frustrating for the consumer. The only party that wins is the Telcom. Don't buy into the FUD compaign put out by the telcoms. Net neutrality is very important.
Oh God! Does this mean when the car won't start or mysteriously catches a virus that causes it to blow oil we have to wait for Patch Tuesday? Doh, I have to get to work and Patch Tuesday ain't for another three weeks. Even worse . . . what if, while driving, our copies of Windows Automotive suddenly decide to verify Genuine Advantage, fail, and the steering wheel disables? That'd be a bad day. Hehe!
Do not be so naive as to think that Windows is included *Free* with the PC that you buy. You are definitely charged for Windows, it just isn't itemized (although Dell is starting to do so.) In the EULA, if you decline and return the CD, you are entitled to a refund.
so, when I get the laptop, the first thing I do is format the HDD and load FreeBSD, a real operating system, on it. Haha! Thanks for the hardware though.
The arguments that Intel, Marvell, and Broadcomm make are very weak indeed. After all, 802.11 is a standard so the big 3 must ensure interoperatibility with other 802.11 products so the firmware really isn't really Intellectual Property per se. I cannot see how Intel, Marvell, or Broadcomm could loose by supporting the BSDs and Linux. If anything, it stands to reason that by opening their products to more platforms, they reach a broader audience thereby increasing sales potential. This is only speculation, but I wonder if Microsoft has some hand in this. This may just be another angle of attack in Microsoft's bid to slow adoption of open source operating systems. With the ever increasing use of wireless networks, it stands to reason that if an operating system lacks good support for wireless networking capability it will not be considered for use. Maybe I am a conspiracy theorist, but this one does not seem to far fetched. After all, Microsoft had a hand in killing Netscape. Just something to think about.
I know this is a pain but you might try getting a RaLink or Atheros based adapter from Linksys. NDIS does suck. I agree. I actually use FreeBSD and NDIS is just as bad. The ral and ath drivers are direct ports from Linux and appear to work just about the same. Try one of these as a pcmcia card.
Honestly, this sounds like a ploy from the Big 3 automakers lobby groups and Big Oil to make alternative energy sources look less attractive. And, I don't care how you spin it, a hybrid car should always come out better; if not by government standards then by common sense. Common sense has to win over when you burn less gas because the hybrid car has the electric drive. Leave it to government to pass another non-sense law. We need to end our dependence on oil, period! Not just foriegn oil but all sources of it! This will take a more grass roots campaign as Big Oil and GM only pay lip service to alternative energies. It will take us as consumers to make oil unfavorable. After all, this is a market economy and if no wants oil anymore than Big Oil will need to find something else or go bankrupt. There is little to no insentive for the oil companies to invest in alternative energies. We as the consumer create the incentive. You can pass all the clean air initiatives you want and continue to tout the party line but nothing will change until Americans collectively scream, "We want alternative energy vehicles!" Right now, this is far minority.
You might try stessing the importance of logging calls. Explain that by logging calls, negative trends can be tracked and justifications for better systems can be made. Call tracking also allows you to identify persistent, problem users and you can go to their managers to deal with those types. Finally, it is a good troubleshooting record. If the same person calls again with the same problem, the help desk technician only need look at the history rather than starting troubleshooting from scratch. He or she can see what ground has been covered and try something else. If these steps do not encourage better record keeping, well, the Big Iron First(tm) may not be so bad. Hey, there are more people with IT skills than there are jobs for them. If your particular two folks don't want to work, I am sure you will find, without difficulty, someone that does want to. Maybe I am old fashioned, but when a supervisor makes a reasonable request, you do it. Now, if the reason was legimtimately forgetting to log a call, that's different. I happen to like Track-It as a call logging system despite it being IE and Windows centric.
Seems like the myspace users are now paying the price of lack of privacy, agreed. Why would anyone want to post all the details about their lives? Myspace becomes a giant warehouse to get information that people can use against you. Imagine, you are interviewing for that job that you want and you loose your chance because your potential employer decides to do a myspace query and doesn't like what they find. It has already been shown that employers have some defacto ability to regulate what their employees do in their off time by threatening them with termination. If you are concerned about privacy, by all means, do not use myspace. Privacy is not such a bad thing and Americans do need to be better at observing the TMI rule (Too Much Information)
Let's say that Jim downloaded the episodes in non-approved manner and watched them.
This one is totally off base. If you can download the content, why purchase it? I certainly wouldn't
Thanks for your thoughts. The reason I speak up is because I love my country and it hurts to see it become this hypocritical. Mark my words, democracy will re-strengthen once the Bush regieme is done. I am sure a more rational president will dissolve the Patriot Act and revoke powers from the Department of Homeland Security. Americans are not so much idiots as they tend to be driven by emotion rather than rational thought. This is evidenced in our reaction to 9/11 which was impulsive . . . . we simply wanted blood. While this can certainly be understood because the 9/11 attacks were horrific (no matter what angle you approach it), the wiser, intelligent president would make careful plans and develop a strategy. An answer was necessary, but by developing a careful strategy and through the use of restraint, garner public support, we would not have made as many grievous errors. Going after the Taliban was okay because they were really more responsible; but attacking Iraq . . . . . This is a thorny issue because Hussein is absolutely no saint. The philosopher Sun Tzu advocated against impulsivity. Our reaction, unfortunately, made the world far less safe. Also look to the fact that we have so many different and offshoot religions. Americans tend to think in terms of religion which sometimes can throw rational thought out the window. This is not all negative because religion can, when used for a good purpose, provide an impetus to do good and to lead a healthy, spiritual life.
Just curious, where are you from? I can assure you that travel is just as difficult for good, law abiding U.S. citizens as it is for foriegn visitors. I sincerely hope you will come visit because the U.S. is a good place. Take pains to distinguish the government from its people.
Perhaps the conspiracy theories are not so wrong. Politics and the economy seem to dictate that in a tragedy, their will be some that profit and others that loose. Look at Haliburton. Haliburton's profits increased megafold as a result of non-competitive contracts with the DoD. Come on folks, we know if the owners of Haliburton were some poor inner city folk (or just a start up without political connections) they wouldn't have gotten a chance to even bid on the contract. I also have to say that our freedoms have erroded. This is not theory, this law. The Patriot Act puts severe limitations on our freedoms and we are traveling down a steep, slippery slope. As much as I despise the acts of 9/11, I cannot condone Guantanamo Bay and the secret prisons and the domestic wire tapping program.
We accused Clinton of being a liar and Bush repeatedly lied about their being no domestic wire tapping program or secret prison Mr. Bush drove us to war on a lie. There were no weapons of mass destruction. While I do not like Cynthia McKinney from Georgia at all, she drove a point by attempting to introduce legislation to impeach Bush. Honestly, he is far more impeachable than Clinton. We hold ourselves up on such high, hypocritical horses that we punished Clinton for a blow job: a harmless, repeat harmless act whereas Mr. Bush has effectively killed 16,000 people because he wanted to finish daddy's work. Mr. Bush needs to answer for his actions but, so long as he has money, he has a get out of jail ticket. It would take the collective bravery of the International Criminal Court to bring charges down. I could only hope that the ICC is brave enough to take this on. Bush has committed war crimes under a guise.
Bush is an extremeist in his own right. He is the antithesis of Ahmadenjinad of Iran. It has been speculated that Bush has some fascination with the Apocalypse and the Born-Again Christians do have a preocupation with this event. Clinton got some undeserved negative attention. He did wonders for the economy. The presidency requires an intelligent, well-thought, and well-spoken indidivdual.
Some have attempted to compare Bush to Lincoln. True, both were in unpopular wars and both rather folksy. There remains an important difference. Lincoln was not ideologically driven and he was doing what was morally correct for ANY time period: ending a wrong justified by pseudoscientific means. Lincoln saw the problems with calling our nation free while slavery still existed. This was a moral and ethical dilemna. Lincoln dealt with this. While Lincoln is folksy, it is clear that his intelligence and thought capacity is higher than that of Bush. As far as I am concerned there is no comparison and history will see the George W. Bush Presidency as one of the worst administrations in the history of our country.
Aren't you being a little judgemental? I don't think the article was making the suggestion that these robotic seals replace genuine affection. There is no replacement for genuine affection. I think the article suggests that this is potentially a therapeutic tool for the elderly. It has a response akin to bio-feedback. That said, the Japanese traditionally show more respect and reverence toward their elders than in the west.
I must say this is a great idea. It is taking relatively older ideas and technology and modernizing them. There is a lot to be said for the neural stimulation one recieves from the simple act of caring for something. It has been shown that stuffed animals help a child to learn and cope with difficulty. Using Bio-Feedback, one can see the stimulation this provides. Taking robotics and applying it to the stuffed animal is wonderful. The sounds of satiation that the harp seal stuffed animal provides works to relax the body and mind. This may be a lot easier than caring for a live animal; especially for someone elderly and with more limited ranges of motion. I volunteered in a nursing home wherein we used cats to provide the pet therapy. Somewhere along the line I remember hearing a neurologist claim that the sound of the purring of a cat provides relaxation. Additionally, the gentle, tactile vibrations that come from the purring trigger a response shown to lower blood pressure and improve blood flow. I would really like to see continued development of this harp seal robot. I think it may have great potential for health and elder care.
Try PCBSD. I have had a nightmare of a time with Linux too. PCBSD uses the FreeBSD distribution of BSD (which is not a linux kernel but a true, independent Operating system) Not only is it easy to install, but installing packages works very similarly to Windows. try this www.pcbsd.org.
It does have selinux as an apt package that you can install. I think I should clarify that I meant I like it very much. It does lack some things but for my purposes it works well. But, selinux is available. You might do some homework there.
Haven't you noticed these studies come and go. One minute they are saying alcohol is bad for you, the next they are saying it is good. This is a lot like the "Great Chocolate Debate." One day the news reports chocolate as being good, the next day the same reporter says to avoid it. Junk science, anyone?
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, I am not fan of KDE or GNOME either. But KDE 4 looks like an improvement. For now, XFCE rules. I use it myself.
Canada is looking better and better all the time. The US clearly is not the freest nation. I believe Thomas Jefferson is tossing in his grave. His expression, "Those that would give up liberty for security get none and deserve neither," says it all. Bush just wants to be an autocrat. Hopefully, the democrats will put the kibosh on this one.
Hehe. That's a pretty good article. That one'd be good for youtube
I am no fan of this at all. We already have too many distractions for drivers making the roads increasingly unsafe. And each year there are more and more cars on the road. Cell phones ( and Blackberries), eating, and having the radio playing at the same time make driving very hazardous (for the driver and the other hapless drivers out there.) I don't really care if you can multitask because your focus should be on driving when you're behind the wheel. I don't want my life bet on your multitasking ability. The last thing a driver needs to be doing is surfing the web. If there could be a safety mechanism that will not allow useage while the vehicle is on the road, that is one thing. Toyota does this with some of its GPS units. You cannot manipulate them while the vehicle is moving.
Well, I am automatically skeptical because of the author. The author is known somewhat for wagon hopping and even a little bit of misdirection. I have read articles wherein he crucifies Linux and another where he praises it. I am not sure exactly where his loyalties lie. Others have observed that he just wants to stir up the waters or fan the flames.
Actually, this is a current problem because it is well known that on comcast, vonage service suffers greatly. Conversely, vonage on Road Runner and FIOS is excellent. I believe there is already anti-competitive behavior going on. Legislation will keep the playing field fair and equal. Can you imagine a two-tiered Internet? It would be incredibly frustrating for the consumer. The only party that wins is the Telcom. Don't buy into the FUD compaign put out by the telcoms. Net neutrality is very important.
Oh God! Does this mean when the car won't start or mysteriously catches a virus that causes it to blow oil we have to wait for Patch Tuesday? Doh, I have to get to work and Patch Tuesday ain't for another three weeks. Even worse . . . what if, while driving, our copies of Windows Automotive suddenly decide to verify Genuine Advantage, fail, and the steering wheel disables? That'd be a bad day. Hehe!
Do not be so naive as to think that Windows is included *Free* with the PC that you buy. You are definitely charged for Windows, it just isn't itemized (although Dell is starting to do so.) In the EULA, if you decline and return the CD, you are entitled to a refund.
so, when I get the laptop, the first thing I do is format the HDD and load FreeBSD, a real operating system, on it. Haha! Thanks for the hardware though.
The arguments that Intel, Marvell, and Broadcomm make are very weak indeed. After all, 802.11 is a standard so the big 3 must ensure interoperatibility with other 802.11 products so the firmware really isn't really Intellectual Property per se. I cannot see how Intel, Marvell, or Broadcomm could loose by supporting the BSDs and Linux. If anything, it stands to reason that by opening their products to more platforms, they reach a broader audience thereby increasing sales potential. This is only speculation, but I wonder if Microsoft has some hand in this. This may just be another angle of attack in Microsoft's bid to slow adoption of open source operating systems. With the ever increasing use of wireless networks, it stands to reason that if an operating system lacks good support for wireless networking capability it will not be considered for use. Maybe I am a conspiracy theorist, but this one does not seem to far fetched. After all, Microsoft had a hand in killing Netscape. Just something to think about.
I know this is a pain but you might try getting a RaLink or Atheros based adapter from Linksys. NDIS does suck. I agree. I actually use FreeBSD and NDIS is just as bad. The ral and ath drivers are direct ports from Linux and appear to work just about the same. Try one of these as a pcmcia card.
Honestly, this sounds like a ploy from the Big 3 automakers lobby groups and Big Oil to make alternative energy sources look less attractive. And, I don't care how you spin it, a hybrid car should always come out better; if not by government standards then by common sense. Common sense has to win over when you burn less gas because the hybrid car has the electric drive. Leave it to government to pass another non-sense law. We need to end our dependence on oil, period! Not just foriegn oil but all sources of it! This will take a more grass roots campaign as Big Oil and GM only pay lip service to alternative energies. It will take us as consumers to make oil unfavorable. After all, this is a market economy and if no wants oil anymore than Big Oil will need to find something else or go bankrupt. There is little to no insentive for the oil companies to invest in alternative energies. We as the consumer create the incentive. You can pass all the clean air initiatives you want and continue to tout the party line but nothing will change until Americans collectively scream, "We want alternative energy vehicles!" Right now, this is far minority.
You might try stessing the importance of logging calls. Explain that by logging calls, negative trends can be tracked and justifications for better systems can be made. Call tracking also allows you to identify persistent, problem users and you can go to their managers to deal with those types. Finally, it is a good troubleshooting record. If the same person calls again with the same problem, the help desk technician only need look at the history rather than starting troubleshooting from scratch. He or she can see what ground has been covered and try something else. If these steps do not encourage better record keeping, well, the Big Iron First(tm) may not be so bad. Hey, there are more people with IT skills than there are jobs for them. If your particular two folks don't want to work, I am sure you will find, without difficulty, someone that does want to. Maybe I am old fashioned, but when a supervisor makes a reasonable request, you do it. Now, if the reason was legimtimately forgetting to log a call, that's different. I happen to like Track-It as a call logging system despite it being IE and Windows centric.
Seems like the myspace users are now paying the price of lack of privacy, agreed. Why would anyone want to post all the details about their lives? Myspace becomes a giant warehouse to get information that people can use against you. Imagine, you are interviewing for that job that you want and you loose your chance because your potential employer decides to do a myspace query and doesn't like what they find. It has already been shown that employers have some defacto ability to regulate what their employees do in their off time by threatening them with termination. If you are concerned about privacy, by all means, do not use myspace. Privacy is not such a bad thing and Americans do need to be better at observing the TMI rule (Too Much Information)
Why not make the cyborg deer charge and attack the poachers? That'll learn ya. Hey, I am a hunter but I do it legally and responsibly.
Let's say that Jim downloaded the episodes in non-approved manner and watched them. This one is totally off base. If you can download the content, why purchase it? I certainly wouldn't
Just curious, where are you from? I can assure you that travel is just as difficult for good, law abiding U.S. citizens as it is for foriegn visitors. I sincerely hope you will come visit because the U.S. is a good place. Take pains to distinguish the government from its people.
O.K, so how about sending . . . . Al Cohol Amanda Huginkiss I.P. Freely Ivana Humpalot
We accused Clinton of being a liar and Bush repeatedly lied about their being no domestic wire tapping program or secret prison Mr. Bush drove us to war on a lie. There were no weapons of mass destruction. While I do not like Cynthia McKinney from Georgia at all, she drove a point by attempting to introduce legislation to impeach Bush. Honestly, he is far more impeachable than Clinton. We hold ourselves up on such high, hypocritical horses that we punished Clinton for a blow job: a harmless, repeat harmless act whereas Mr. Bush has effectively killed 16,000 people because he wanted to finish daddy's work. Mr. Bush needs to answer for his actions but, so long as he has money, he has a get out of jail ticket. It would take the collective bravery of the International Criminal Court to bring charges down. I could only hope that the ICC is brave enough to take this on. Bush has committed war crimes under a guise.
Bush is an extremeist in his own right. He is the antithesis of Ahmadenjinad of Iran. It has been speculated that Bush has some fascination with the Apocalypse and the Born-Again Christians do have a preocupation with this event. Clinton got some undeserved negative attention. He did wonders for the economy. The presidency requires an intelligent, well-thought, and well-spoken indidivdual.
Some have attempted to compare Bush to Lincoln. True, both were in unpopular wars and both rather folksy. There remains an important difference. Lincoln was not ideologically driven and he was doing what was morally correct for ANY time period: ending a wrong justified by pseudoscientific means. Lincoln saw the problems with calling our nation free while slavery still existed. This was a moral and ethical dilemna. Lincoln dealt with this. While Lincoln is folksy, it is clear that his intelligence and thought capacity is higher than that of Bush. As far as I am concerned there is no comparison and history will see the George W. Bush Presidency as one of the worst administrations in the history of our country.
Aren't you being a little judgemental? I don't think the article was making the suggestion that these robotic seals replace genuine affection. There is no replacement for genuine affection. I think the article suggests that this is potentially a therapeutic tool for the elderly. It has a response akin to bio-feedback. That said, the Japanese traditionally show more respect and reverence toward their elders than in the west.
I must say this is a great idea. It is taking relatively older ideas and technology and modernizing them. There is a lot to be said for the neural stimulation one recieves from the simple act of caring for something. It has been shown that stuffed animals help a child to learn and cope with difficulty. Using Bio-Feedback, one can see the stimulation this provides. Taking robotics and applying it to the stuffed animal is wonderful. The sounds of satiation that the harp seal stuffed animal provides works to relax the body and mind. This may be a lot easier than caring for a live animal; especially for someone elderly and with more limited ranges of motion. I volunteered in a nursing home wherein we used cats to provide the pet therapy. Somewhere along the line I remember hearing a neurologist claim that the sound of the purring of a cat provides relaxation. Additionally, the gentle, tactile vibrations that come from the purring trigger a response shown to lower blood pressure and improve blood flow. I would really like to see continued development of this harp seal robot. I think it may have great potential for health and elder care.
Try PCBSD. I have had a nightmare of a time with Linux too. PCBSD uses the FreeBSD distribution of BSD (which is not a linux kernel but a true, independent Operating system) Not only is it easy to install, but installing packages works very similarly to Windows. try this www.pcbsd.org.
I could not be in more agreement. When the good stand silently by, they become a part of the problem.
It does have selinux as an apt package that you can install. I think I should clarify that I meant I like it very much. It does lack some things but for my purposes it works well. But, selinux is available. You might do some homework there.
Haven't you noticed these studies come and go. One minute they are saying alcohol is bad for you, the next they are saying it is good. This is a lot like the "Great Chocolate Debate." One day the news reports chocolate as being good, the next day the same reporter says to avoid it. Junk science, anyone?