I find switching between QWERTY and DVORAK as easy as transposing key signatures in music.
Ask any studied musician about transposing from C major to G major, it is just a tiny mental shift, that's all.
I must admit, though, that going from a regular DVORAK to a Microsoft "split" keyboard , natural keyboard, or ergonomic keyboard is very frustrating.
The Recon Scout Robot reminds me of this device.
The benefit of this design is you could throw the robot on top of a roof or through a window.
It can then be wirelessly piloted, all the while delivering a realtime video feed of whatever is in sight.
Oh, and it is slightly softer than a whisper (not counting glass breaking through the window.
There are two great videos on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3exsvQiH6Q
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiZ7GLRNYfY
One way to accomplish this and retain and Windoze data you may have, is to have either a bootable CD of Puppy or Knoppix Linux, or, even better, have Puppy Linux on an SDCard, if your BIOS supports booting from SDCard. Then, they can examine your computer, browse files, including some photos you have in there just for show, and they won't even notice your Windoze content at all. You could even label the CD "Camping Photos" and have some photos on there too, with a multisession ISO burn, and if they remove the CD, Puppy will still run (if already booted) since it does not require the CD to be present, after you have booted.
Well, if you think of it like this, when I view a SERP (Search Engine Results Page) a well thought out one would provide the results in several modules, and permit sorting and filtering on variables such as relevancy, date, author, domain, language, etc (features that regrettably are absent from Google, although I can restrict on the advanced search query things like the domain or language). What I do not get from Google, though, is grouping all the results by a domain, language, author, etc. (for instance all the results from CNN.com grouped together).
I mention this, even though it seems off-topic, to prepare a context in which to consider the sorting features on Slashdot. Some of these already exist, for instance, if I click on my user name, I can see everything I have submitted to Slashdot while logged in under my username. So, on your point/question of how might it break up multipage discussions, I would agree that it can (which is not so good). However in the Web 2.0 world, the features, at one level, are all about the user defining how he or she elects to view the content, rather than conforming to static definitions. Greasemonkey is popular, despite its deficiencies precisely because it permits such flexibility. Other technologies, like Snowflake, to mention but one, are similar in principle: don't tie down the user. Yes, have default settings that represent the way you want the page and its results/threads delivered, but permit the choices to the user. It might not always be appropriate to view in this manner (such as in your example). Is this a geek feature to be employed by but a few. Yes, probably at first, but more long-term (which in the world of IT could be months to a few years) it will be simply the way that a professional website is expected to perform.
As far as I am aware, Slashdot does not offer a sorting filter. It would be a REALLY great feature to be able to click to only display messages with a score of "4 or 5" for instance. That would also help minimize the amount of trolling nonsense that makes its way onto the board, and let me see comments that are "insightful" or "helpful" first. If I really want to see a "1" level comment, I would just scroll to the bottom of the page.
The Guardian article is not correct, in stating "the first known incidence of such an assault on a state".
James Adams published an article entitled "Virtual Defense" from Foreign Affairs, May/June 2001 that details a number of cyber-attacks on a massive scale, against the United States. Specifically the Pentagon, NASA, as well as private universities and research laboratories, and a number of military defense contractors were targeted and the security breaches were enourmous, with highly sensitive documents vulnerable.
Here is a link to the article (brief preview, then they make it available for purchase - sorry)
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20010501faessay4771/ james-adams/virtual-defense.html
According to Foreign Affairs:
The U.S. government now believes that more than 30
nations have developed aggressive computer-warfare programs. The list includes
Russia and China, volatile governments such as Iran and Iraq, and U.S. allies
such as Israel and France...The hackers have built "back doors" through which they can re-enter the infiltrated systems at will and steal further data; they have also left behind tools that reroute specific network traffic through Russia. [end of excerpt]
The danger here is very high, especially for small businesses, who certainly do not have the technical resources of the US military (and even that was breached). Many small businesses have military contracts, etc. In short, this is a genuine act of war, and the potential for breaches of security across small businesses in the US (or really anywhere) is very high.
I switched to DVORAK about 2.5 years ago, and I have been extremely happy with the results. I have a music background, and am therefore very used to transposing music in my head. From what I can tell, it is essentially the same mental process to type in DVORAK and transpose from C to Bb major. For that reason, I think, I have no problem at all switching back and forth from QWERTY to DVORAK and back again, depending on what computer I am on. The settings are very easy in Windows...Linux it's there too, but just not as consistently documented. When installing a new distribution, many Linux OS's offer a keyboard layout, but my own experience is that the setting does not take hold unless I edit the keyboard layout config file myself post-installation.
I usually remove the keys to the keyboard with a screwdriver and arrange them in the DVORAK layout (my co-workers think it is crazy, but I swear by it). I have found the Microsoft keyboards do not allow the letter "J" to pull off (maybe some of them do, but I have not found one yet), so I have had the best success with Keytronics and HP (though right now I am using an old Packard Bell keyboard - yuck).
I have taken classes at two schools through distance learning, one was a traditional school with a physical location and the other was purely online - both were accredited.
Does anyone know of any good resources for locating other such courses? I have found some on Google, but they are SO focused on paid advertisements for you to watch, lots of clicking, and then most of the listings are paid sponsorships.
Anyone?
Greenstone is a project out of New Zealand, that runs on Linux and Windoze.
I am not too sure about the photos, but it runs the Lucene engine for the search.
Also, TSEP (The Search Engine Project) provides a very decent search capability.
With each of these projects, you could set the indexer nightly (for example) or as often as you prefer.
Slashdot Mirror
I find switching between QWERTY and DVORAK as easy as transposing key signatures in music. Ask any studied musician about transposing from C major to G major, it is just a tiny mental shift, that's all. I must admit, though, that going from a regular DVORAK to a Microsoft "split" keyboard , natural keyboard, or ergonomic keyboard is very frustrating.
The Recon Scout Robot reminds me of this device. The benefit of this design is you could throw the robot on top of a roof or through a window. It can then be wirelessly piloted, all the while delivering a realtime video feed of whatever is in sight. Oh, and it is slightly softer than a whisper (not counting glass breaking through the window. There are two great videos on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3exsvQiH6Q and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiZ7GLRNYfY
Actually you can already Convert Scanned PDF Documents to Text with Google OCR, though it is not immediate, unless you have control of the indexing frequency of your site. http://www.labnol.org/software/convert-scanned-pdf-images-to-text-with-google-ocr/5158/
One way to accomplish this and retain and Windoze data you may have, is to have either a bootable CD of Puppy or Knoppix Linux, or, even better, have Puppy Linux on an SDCard, if your BIOS supports booting from SDCard. Then, they can examine your computer, browse files, including some photos you have in there just for show, and they won't even notice your Windoze content at all. You could even label the CD "Camping Photos" and have some photos on there too, with a multisession ISO burn, and if they remove the CD, Puppy will still run (if already booted) since it does not require the CD to be present, after you have booted.
Well, if you think of it like this, when I view a SERP (Search Engine Results Page) a well thought out one would provide the results in several modules, and permit sorting and filtering on variables such as relevancy, date, author, domain, language, etc (features that regrettably are absent from Google, although I can restrict on the advanced search query things like the domain or language). What I do not get from Google, though, is grouping all the results by a domain, language, author, etc. (for instance all the results from CNN.com grouped together).
I mention this, even though it seems off-topic, to prepare a context in which to consider the sorting features on Slashdot. Some of these already exist, for instance, if I click on my user name, I can see everything I have submitted to Slashdot while logged in under my username. So, on your point/question of how might it break up multipage discussions, I would agree that it can (which is not so good). However in the Web 2.0 world, the features, at one level, are all about the user defining how he or she elects to view the content, rather than conforming to static definitions. Greasemonkey is popular, despite its deficiencies precisely because it permits such flexibility. Other technologies, like Snowflake, to mention but one, are similar in principle: don't tie down the user. Yes, have default settings that represent the way you want the page and its results/threads delivered, but permit the choices to the user. It might not always be appropriate to view in this manner (such as in your example). Is this a geek feature to be employed by but a few. Yes, probably at first, but more long-term (which in the world of IT could be months to a few years) it will be simply the way that a professional website is expected to perform.
crumley,
That looks like what I was hoping to see, I just did not know of the feature.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!
As far as I am aware, Slashdot does not offer a sorting filter.
It would be a REALLY great feature to be able to click to only display messages with a score of "4 or 5" for instance. That would also help minimize the amount of trolling nonsense that makes its way onto the board, and let me see comments that are "insightful" or "helpful" first. If I really want to see a "1" level comment, I would just scroll to the bottom of the page.
The Guardian article is not correct, in stating "the first known incidence of such an assault on a state". James Adams published an article entitled "Virtual Defense" from Foreign Affairs, May/June 2001 that details a number of cyber-attacks on a massive scale, against the United States. Specifically the Pentagon, NASA, as well as private universities and research laboratories, and a number of military defense contractors were targeted and the security breaches were enourmous, with highly sensitive documents vulnerable. Here is a link to the article (brief preview, then they make it available for purchase - sorry) http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20010501faessay4771/ james-adams/virtual-defense.html
According to Foreign Affairs:
The U.S. government now believes that more than 30
nations have developed aggressive computer-warfare programs. The list includes
Russia and China, volatile governments such as Iran and Iraq, and U.S. allies
such as Israel and France...The hackers have built "back doors" through which they can re-enter the infiltrated systems at will and steal further data; they have also left behind tools that reroute specific network traffic through Russia. [end of excerpt]
The danger here is very high, especially for small businesses, who certainly do not have the technical resources of the US military (and even that was breached). Many small businesses have military contracts, etc. In short, this is a genuine act of war, and the potential for breaches of security across small businesses in the US (or really anywhere) is very high.
I switched to DVORAK about 2.5 years ago, and I have been extremely happy with the results. I have a music background, and am therefore very used to transposing music in my head. From what I can tell, it is essentially the same mental process to type in DVORAK and transpose from C to Bb major. For that reason, I think, I have no problem at all switching back and forth from QWERTY to DVORAK and back again, depending on what computer I am on. The settings are very easy in Windows...Linux it's there too, but just not as consistently documented. When installing a new distribution, many Linux OS's offer a keyboard layout, but my own experience is that the setting does not take hold unless I edit the keyboard layout config file myself post-installation.
I usually remove the keys to the keyboard with a screwdriver and arrange them in the DVORAK layout (my co-workers think it is crazy, but I swear by it). I have found the Microsoft keyboards do not allow the letter "J" to pull off (maybe some of them do, but I have not found one yet), so I have had the best success with Keytronics and HP (though right now I am using an old Packard Bell keyboard - yuck).
I have taken classes at two schools through distance learning, one was a traditional school with a physical location and the other was purely online - both were accredited. Does anyone know of any good resources for locating other such courses? I have found some on Google, but they are SO focused on paid advertisements for you to watch, lots of clicking, and then most of the listings are paid sponsorships. Anyone?
Greenstone is a project out of New Zealand, that runs on Linux and Windoze. I am not too sure about the photos, but it runs the Lucene engine for the search. Also, TSEP (The Search Engine Project) provides a very decent search capability. With each of these projects, you could set the indexer nightly (for example) or as often as you prefer.