Putting on a strictly nationalistic hat I'd say I'm glad it failed. After all, who wants to be threatened by yet another unstable egotistical maniac with ICBMs and WMD?
Stepping back a bit though I might be disappointed because critics of the Missile Defense System will use this (shortsightedly IMHO) to say we don't need one. I'd contend that by the time we need a missile defense, it's too late to start building it.
Finally, being entirely selfish about it, some might be disappointed because they wanted a NK success to "scare the h*ll out of" everybody. That might increase the push/urgency (ie. funding) for projects that would benefit some congressmen/women's districts, defense contractors, make the Administration look good/prescient, etc. etc.
In the end, good bad or indifferent, it's up to you.
From the article, it appears the two rockets were different designs/models, and launched from different sites. So probably no correlation there... Still, I'll bet there are lots of engineering types losing sleep over there right now.
They have had 12 successful commercial launches in a row, a good record. But now they're 0 for 2 in their last to big launch attempts.
Note to self, stay out of the Bay of Bengal when they're launching.;-)
Or in my case, my only remaining Win98 machine is a 5+ year old IBM Thinkpad (A21M IIRC). With only a 20G HD, 192M memory, and a PIII at 800MHz... It can't effectively run later Win versions. Not to mention, for what I use it for (now, it's not a primary, or even secondary machine), Win98 is all I need on it.
Just the other day I tried booting a Knoppix live CD in it and that worked fine. So if/when 98 becomes too "sick" (as windows installs invariable seem to do) I'll just wipe it and put on some reasonably simple distro of Linux.:-)
But for now, that machine maybe gets booted up somewhere between once a week and once a month...
Hmm, the "equipment" is a factor in many, many events.
Are you going to standardize all the skates for the speed skaters? Forget custom fitting then?
Ditto figure skaters.
How about skis on the downhill, standardizing there wouldn't be popular.
Snowboarders would revolt at the idea of boarding on the same stuff.
Bobsledders? Luge?
Going to make everyone run/jump in the same shoes?
Vault with the same poles, regardless of weight/height?
These are just a few things off the top of my head. Being an athelete is part natural talent, part learned skill, training, sacrifice and desire/drive. And yes, part of the skill has to be you and/or your coach's ability to find the right equipment for the athelete. Just as an athelete may learn their body responds better to one training routine and/or diet plan over another, they have to learn what choices in equipment work best for them.
Being a former competative swimmer, I would revolt at the idea of everyone wearing the same suits, caps, goggles... Being into weightlifting now, I can see how belts, gloves, straps, to chalk or not etc. is a personal choice. We should let the atheletes make those choices to maximize their performance.
I think the posters in this thread are right on target.
Where I work we are moving from XP to Suse or Red Hat (I wish the powers that be would make up their minds). I run both here at home, so no biggie... And yes, this is not a huge transition, maybe 90 desktops and a dozen or so servers... But it is a start, and I like being part of it.
As for spreading the message to family members. Did that. Got a teenage nephew computer geek turned on to Linux. (he even wears Linux T shirts now) I don't think he even runs win at home anymore. Got my wife and two kids um "interested" in Linux. I've got them running Open Office, Thunderbird and Mozilla on their XP boxes. The kids have experimented with a bootable Knoppix CD and like it. So maybe they're about ready to make the jump...
Of course the cable, like any other aerospace development effort, went through several designs. What are the chances there are previous versions of the cable, connectors, etc.??? Now, what are the chances of the wrong cable getting sent up?
Anyone old enough to remember the {expletive} of making home-made RS-232 crossover cables, gender changers, 9 pin vs 25 pin, 25 pin to centronics (printer) cables, A-B switch boxes, original vs PS/2 style keyboard and mouse connectors... I tell ya' the USB generation doesn't know what fun it missed.
So I'm picturing a cardboard box full of cables and connectors wedged in a cabinet somewhere on the shuttle. Just like every other good-old computer weenie had to have...
Granted, I'm no legal expert but a couple of points would seem to be in the defense's favor:
It is an open network, presumably broadcast off their premises. Would you sue someone for sitting on a sidewalk bench reading a newspaper at night by your store lights? "Hey, that light is for customers only!" Or "Hey, that muzak is for the customers only!" Maybe in that case people on the sidewalk could sue the store for noise pollution;-)
If you buy into the idea that it is for paying customers only, what level or amount of service is implied? If the guy was ever a customer then he's covered. I mean, does one latte buy you 1 hour of access, 1 day,... what? If he has any proof he ever made a purchase there, then it is a matter of how much service he was entitled too. I'll bet the shop only has a little sign that says "Free wireless internet" or some such. Probably doesn't even say "For customers only" let alone any limits. Ah, and IIRC a contract without limits is not valid...
How long before these hot-spots start posting AUPs? I'll bet the shop doesn't have one, yet.
Nope, no matter how creepy, innovative, clever, stupid, or {insert characterization here} you think this guy is, he probably can't be successfully prossecuted.
The real question is, who has time to sit around in their truck for hours each day? Sheesh, I barely have enough time to read a/. article or two for entertainment!;-)
I suppose I could develop an app on either my Red Hat or Suse boxes, then port it over to SCO. But you know, I'll just bet I'd have to pay about $700 for that "privilege."
Then I'd submit it... I'll bet buried in the "contest" rules somewhere is a clause about their getting rights to use or expand on any or all submissions. So my IP would essentially become theirs.
The only even remotely "up" side of this is that I'll bet my app would stand a fair chance of winning just 'cause there'll be so few entries.
On second thought, maybe I'll just go buy $695 worth of lottery tickets and a six pack...
I'm with you. Is anyone else a little concerned at the thought of these being designed and built by the lowest bidder?
I'm picturing the two guys from the Dodge truck commercials... "Hey, we can build a nuclear bomb? Sweet! We'll blow that hemi away now! We'll do it for beer." Or some such...
Me too. My Suse based, FireFox/Thunderbird/Open-Office system says "what patch?";-)
re: Ubuntu... I just tried that last week on an old system. Have to say it was pretty neat, 1 CD but two problems. During install it said it could run X at 1024x768, 800x600, and 640x480. Yet when it came up it was in 640x480 mode and I could not change it - 640x480 at 60Hz were the only selections. Granted, this could be "pilot error" on my part since this is my first exposure to Gnome. (I'm a KDE guy) Maybe I'll try the Kbuntu build...
The other problem was that it did not find my "classic" MS serial mouse connected to COM1. (yes, this is an old system) Yet when I hot plugged a USB mouse it started using it right away. Here again, I could find no way to manually configure/tell it there was a serial mouse out there.
No big deal though. I'm happy with my Suse and Red Hat boxes. I am going to get a "live CD" Linux for booting/rescuing. Maybe Knoppix or something similar.
I'm already there. At work I use Suse (on Xeons) for my development work, and yes, an XP system just because I have to. (running Office apps) At home though, where I'm in control... It is Red Hat and Suse, Open Office, Firefox/Thunderbird, GIMP... MS products were just that stuff the manufacturer used to burn-in the hardware before I put the real software on it.;-)
Why not "suggest" to the auto makers they have their vehicles retain speed and position records? On the off chance that at some later date a County Sherrif may want the data to back up his/her claim you were speeding? Ha!
Seriously though... Does this guy have any idea what he's asking? How many TB of storage big ISPs would need to keep this kind of data for even a modest period of time? Quick, buy stock in the big disk drive makers now...
No, Mexicans welcome. As legal immigrants. You don't like the immigration procedures, change them. Legally. Don't ignore them. Else hey, why not just ignore any other laws or procedures we find inconvenient or problematic?
What I'm concerned about is this... This plan opens up a whole new realm for neighborhood busybodies. To paraphrase Mr. T - I pitty the {fool} ie. the men and women who'll have to answer 624 hysterical calls when one kid is caught on video crossing the border.
After all, you could make an argument for several others:
The deHaviland Comet. Stress concentrations and metal fatigue resulted in the loss of several aircraft.
HMS Titanic. Inadequate watertight compartments (IMHO the bulkheads should've extended higher, and/or been closer together). Also too few lifeboats to accomodate everyone on board.
Hubble telescope. Nno loss of life, just extremely bad press on a very expensive engineering program. 100% avoidable too.
Denver airport luggage system. No loss of life, unless one of the engineers jumped. The automated system was very expensive, late, and never worked correctly. To the point that the airport is using a normal manual labor system and has given up on ever using the automated system. (but is still paying for it)
Chernobyl (sp?) and/or Three Mile Island. Safety equipment, procedures, and training obviously not up to the task.
Any one of several early Soviet nuclear submarine designs. That more of them didn't sink or irradate their crews (more) is a credit to the bravery and dedication of their crews.
The main thing to look for in a "worst engineering mistakes" list would be something that not only seems obviously a bad idea in retrospect... But that should've been recognized as a really bad idea, even with the technology and education levels available at the time.
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Putting on a strictly nationalistic hat I'd say I'm glad it failed. After all, who wants to be threatened by yet another unstable egotistical maniac with ICBMs and WMD?
Stepping back a bit though I might be disappointed because critics of the Missile Defense System will use this (shortsightedly IMHO) to say we don't need one. I'd contend that by the time we need a missile defense, it's too late to start building it.
Finally, being entirely selfish about it, some might be disappointed because they wanted a NK success to "scare the h*ll out of" everybody. That might increase the push/urgency (ie. funding) for projects that would benefit some congressmen/women's districts, defense contractors, make the Administration look good/prescient, etc. etc.
In the end, good bad or indifferent, it's up to you.
They have had 12 successful commercial launches in a row, a good record. But now they're 0 for 2 in their last to big launch attempts.
Note to self, stay out of the Bay of Bengal when they're launching. ;-)
Just the other day I tried booting a Knoppix live CD in it and that worked fine. So if/when 98 becomes too "sick" (as windows installs invariable seem to do) I'll just wipe it and put on some reasonably simple distro of Linux. :-)
But for now, that machine maybe gets booted up somewhere between once a week and once a month...
- Are you going to standardize all the skates for the speed skaters? Forget custom fitting then?
- Ditto figure skaters.
- How about skis on the downhill, standardizing there wouldn't be popular.
- Snowboarders would revolt at the idea of boarding on the same stuff.
- Bobsledders? Luge?
- Going to make everyone run/jump in the same shoes?
- Vault with the same poles, regardless of weight/height?
These are just a few things off the top of my head. Being an athelete is part natural talent, part learned skill, training, sacrifice and desire/drive. And yes, part of the skill has to be you and/or your coach's ability to find the right equipment for the athelete. Just as an athelete may learn their body responds better to one training routine and/or diet plan over another, they have to learn what choices in equipment work best for them.Being a former competative swimmer, I would revolt at the idea of everyone wearing the same suits, caps, goggles... Being into weightlifting now, I can see how belts, gloves, straps, to chalk or not etc. is a personal choice. We should let the atheletes make those choices to maximize their performance.
Where I work we are moving from XP to Suse or Red Hat (I wish the powers that be would make up their minds). I run both here at home, so no biggie... And yes, this is not a huge transition, maybe 90 desktops and a dozen or so servers... But it is a start, and I like being part of it.
As for spreading the message to family members. Did that. Got a teenage nephew computer geek turned on to Linux. (he even wears Linux T shirts now) I don't think he even runs win at home anymore. Got my wife and two kids um "interested" in Linux. I've got them running Open Office, Thunderbird and Mozilla on their XP boxes. The kids have experimented with a bootable Knoppix CD and like it. So maybe they're about ready to make the jump...
Of course the cable, like any other aerospace development effort, went through several designs. What are the chances there are previous versions of the cable, connectors, etc.??? Now, what are the chances of the wrong cable getting sent up?
Anyone old enough to remember the {expletive} of making home-made RS-232 crossover cables, gender changers, 9 pin vs 25 pin, 25 pin to centronics (printer) cables, A-B switch boxes, original vs PS/2 style keyboard and mouse connectors... I tell ya' the USB generation doesn't know what fun it missed.
So I'm picturing a cardboard box full of cables and connectors wedged in a cabinet somewhere on the shuttle. Just like every other good-old computer weenie had to have...
- It is an open network, presumably broadcast off their premises. Would you sue someone for sitting on a sidewalk bench reading a newspaper at night by your store lights? "Hey, that light is for customers only!" Or "Hey, that muzak is for the customers only!" Maybe in that case people on the sidewalk could sue the store for noise pollution
;-)
- If you buy into the idea that it is for paying customers only, what level or amount of service is implied? If the guy was ever a customer then he's covered. I mean, does one latte buy you 1 hour of access, 1 day,
... what? If he has any proof he ever made a purchase there, then it is a matter of how much service he was entitled too. I'll bet the shop only has a little sign that says "Free wireless internet" or some such. Probably doesn't even say "For customers only" let alone any limits. Ah, and IIRC a contract without limits is not valid...
- How long before these hot-spots start posting AUPs? I'll bet the shop doesn't have one, yet.
Nope, no matter how creepy, innovative, clever, stupid, or {insert characterization here} you think this guy is, he probably can't be successfully prossecuted.The real question is, who has time to sit around in their truck for hours each day? Sheesh, I barely have enough time to read a /. article or two for entertainment! ;-)
I suppose I could develop an app on either my Red Hat or Suse boxes, then port it over to SCO. But you know, I'll just bet I'd have to pay about $700 for that "privilege."
Then I'd submit it... I'll bet buried in the "contest" rules somewhere is a clause about their getting rights to use or expand on any or all submissions. So my IP would essentially become theirs.
The only even remotely "up" side of this is that I'll bet my app would stand a fair chance of winning just 'cause there'll be so few entries.
On second thought, maybe I'll just go buy $695 worth of lottery tickets and a six pack...
I'm picturing the two guys from the Dodge truck commercials... "Hey, we can build a nuclear bomb? Sweet! We'll blow that hemi away now! We'll do it for beer." Or some such...
Hey, maybe they'll open source the project! LOL
re: Ubuntu... I just tried that last week on an old system. Have to say it was pretty neat, 1 CD but two problems. During install it said it could run X at 1024x768, 800x600, and 640x480. Yet when it came up it was in 640x480 mode and I could not change it - 640x480 at 60Hz were the only selections. Granted, this could be "pilot error" on my part since this is my first exposure to Gnome. (I'm a KDE guy) Maybe I'll try the Kbuntu build...
The other problem was that it did not find my "classic" MS serial mouse connected to COM1. (yes, this is an old system) Yet when I hot plugged a USB mouse it started using it right away. Here again, I could find no way to manually configure/tell it there was a serial mouse out there.
No big deal though. I'm happy with my Suse and Red Hat boxes. I am going to get a "live CD" Linux for booting/rescuing. Maybe Knoppix or something similar.
I'm already there. At work I use Suse (on Xeons) for my development work, and yes, an XP system just because I have to. (running Office apps) At home though, where I'm in control... It is Red Hat and Suse, Open Office, Firefox/Thunderbird, GIMP... MS products were just that stuff the manufacturer used to burn-in the hardware before I put the real software on it. ;-)
Seriously though... Does this guy have any idea what he's asking? How many TB of storage big ISPs would need to keep this kind of data for even a modest period of time? Quick, buy stock in the big disk drive makers now...
What I'm concerned about is this... This plan opens up a whole new realm for neighborhood busybodies. To paraphrase Mr. T - I pitty the {fool} ie. the men and women who'll have to answer 624 hysterical calls when one kid is caught on video crossing the border.
I'll buy their hard drive and wipe it -- just have to reload Windows XP on it... ;-) That should overwrite most of the space right from the start!
The deHaviland Comet. Stress concentrations and metal fatigue resulted in the loss of several aircraft.
HMS Titanic. Inadequate watertight compartments (IMHO the bulkheads should've extended higher, and/or been closer together). Also too few lifeboats to accomodate everyone on board.
Hubble telescope. Nno loss of life, just extremely bad press on a very expensive engineering program. 100% avoidable too.
Denver airport luggage system. No loss of life, unless one of the engineers jumped. The automated system was very expensive, late, and never worked correctly. To the point that the airport is using a normal manual labor system and has given up on ever using the automated system. (but is still paying for it)
Chernobyl (sp?) and/or Three Mile Island. Safety equipment, procedures, and training obviously not up to the task.
Any one of several early Soviet nuclear submarine designs. That more of them didn't sink or irradate their crews (more) is a credit to the bravery and dedication of their crews.
The main thing to look for in a "worst engineering mistakes" list would be something that not only seems obviously a bad idea in retrospect... But that should've been recognized as a really bad idea, even with the technology and education levels available at the time.