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User: oblisk

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  1. Our overlords know the truth on Going From Gator to Claria · · Score: 5, Funny

    I tried to goto claria.com from work.

    Our webwasher message said i was denied for trying to access a site in the category: Computer Crime

  2. Not Too sure about consulting jobs..... on Working Internationally--What Should It Pay? · · Score: 1

    However, more permanent/Temporary jobs as an american being moved overseas for an american company (ex-patriation) usually include these bonuses....

    Hazard Pay.... In india or china, this can amount to sometimes 2x your salary depending on the company. However in mellower countries such australia it could just be an extra grand a year.

    Cost of living.... Adjustments to your salary are usually made to compensate higher cost of living in the country you are living in.

    Homeleave.... Paid flight back to america (or country of orgin) each year including visits to each of your relatives.

    And depending on the company/country you may get other benifits.

    oblisk

  3. Does It have to be physical media? on Alternatives To The Floppy Disk? · · Score: 1

    I back up all my important documents on the web, for free when ever i need to. At a university there is no shortage of web access, im sure it wouldnt be hard for users to lern how to do this... Simply, Obtain free email from Yahoo or Hotmail or any of the other big (aka usually reliable) web email systems... Then when your ready to log off, fire up the web browser and email the file to yourself (as in the web based email addy). Now your file is accessable world wide... Simple, Cheap, and universal. Requiring only internet access... (an even better one would be where you would forward the documents to multiple redundant web based email)

  4. Well NZ will get Screwed Then..... on Time Warner To Change DVD Region Coding System? · · Score: 1

    I am wondering what sort of impact this will have on New Zealand DVD consumers, as it is illiegal there to sell regionalized DVD players (its a free trade law or something). If NZ was big enough i wouldnt mind seeing them take legal action against any DVD distributer Attempting this. If only i knew what that law that stops the region encoding was, then we need to all petition the EU and US to follow NZ lead.

  5. Scary Parallel... on Microsoft Litigation vs. Linux NTFS Kernel Support · · Score: 1

    Does anyone note the Scary Parallel this has with the DeCSS case? MS could argue that NTFS has its own Copy protection, and that unauthorized drivers for it would remove the copy protection from their OS, and it would be a theft of IP.

    Poor argument but the Phrasing of DMCA could allow for this possiblity.

    just my rambiling thoughts....
    Oblisk

  6. Whats next? on Geocaching · · Score: 1

    Geo Scavenger Hunts?

  7. There are much better options .... on Get Off The Grid: GE Announces Home Fuel Cells · · Score: 1

    For the Australian Outback....

    Nowadays most of the Really Big remote Farms and Cattle Stations have at least one Wind farm and one Solar Farm. This Gives two advantages as those two setups are replenishable and in that climate provides some generation about 75% of the time. And as a third backup they usually have a Desiel Generator.

    Though this type of fuel Cell is probably more efficient than the desiel generator, its instilation and its need for another storage tank (most of these farms already have huge desiel storage tanks, for their various trucks, light aircraft and helecopters) mean its adaption in these areas is not going to be that widespread

  8. I still find the 100% Runs even more impressive... on Quake Done Quick - With A Vengance · · Score: 3
    Ive always enjoyed these runs through the original and the best, Quake1. The Quick runs that imo were by far the best were the ones where they got 100% kills and 100% secrets in nightmare under an hour. 59:31 to be exact, Hell on nightmare it took me about a month to finish the game (about total in game time was probably 8+ hours).

    Something we used to do at lans after we all got bored:

    load quake
    fov 180
    load QdQ
    Get Drunk
    and Watch ;)

    Oblisk

  9. My Gripes with Search engines..... on Search Engines-Does Obscurity Prevent Exploitation? · · Score: 1
    The biggest gripe with search engines i have is the lack of an option to narrow, or search the results you had from your first search.

    For example when searching for something, I would like to beable to knock out any of the bulliten board 'hits' i get as there always to messed up. My other option would be to get search engines to put the BBS responses somewhere else where they are nested and threaded, so i can go to the base post instead of digging through 15+ RE: to find the original post.

    Also drop out anything with reference to a certain product I.e. Im searching for something on 3d graphic algorithms i would like to drop out all references to 3DFX or Nvidia, i know by doing this i might let something slip through, however it will usually flter out alot of crap.

    These things could probably be implimented quite easily with a pull down menu. The other big gripe i have is with Linux/Unix stuff, this is esp true on FTP searches. I wish there was a way to ignore any Linux/Unix/BSD mirrors while searching for something, usually its impossible to search for something general on FTP search engines b/c of this.

  10. Why Not Use Slashdot? on Developing Subversive Software? · · Score: 1
    Im not sure exactly how long an artice is kept active before it is placed in the archive. But you oculd post the code, to an article thats long dissapeared form the front page, then comments and such can be posted below it for a while (until it is archived).

    And if done via posting anonomously while browsing through an anon proxy server (http://astalavista.box.sk has a list) While not garunteeing absolute security it would probably keep the code distributed and allow comments to be posted.

    The only problem i see is the informing of other developers where exactly to look on /.

    oblisk

  11. useful Arts on FCC to Rule on Request to Limit Recording From TV · · Score: 1
    What is a Useful Art?

    The Constitution says we are to: "promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts"

    To me the majority of the music sold and swaped on services such as Napster are not useful art but rather means of corrupting young minds. As for TV save for a few shows the majority is absolute trash. Movies... about 5 (if were lucky) come out of hollywood a year which are worth seeing, i dont mind paying to see these but if it ever reaches tv then its free game.

    IMO very little of todays commercial art (esp. music) is 'useful'. However i find computer code and written work to be useful art, but i dont think it can be patented only copyrighted.

    oblisk

  12. Why does the program need to be platform specific? on Electronic Medical Records Software for Unix? · · Score: 2
    I have a freind who works with this sort of database, EMR's (I just forwarded the article to him). As far as i know there database code is portable to all systems, only requireing the UI to be coded differently for each system. This might be the optimal way to go is to find a platform indipendent EMR.

    Also, the search for a nice Open source solution, is imo a bit of a reach, as im sure the Uni doesnt want to be used as a beta tester with their patient info, which could have instabilities and insecurities and a lack of professional support.

    oblisk

  13. Well lets look at hollywood's recent analogies.... on Hollywood Says If You Support Open Source, You're ... · · Score: 1
    In the Past Year in hollywood:

    User Of Open Source : Your a Crook
    Leading Patriot in US revolution : Your an Australian
    Submarine Doing some Daring Shit in WW2 : IT's american

    See A Pattern?

    I wonder if they ever passed the SAT analogies section?

    Can anyone think of any other classic Hollywood analogies?

    Oblisk

  14. Lack of Ethernet in TViO.... on Where are the "Internet" Appliances with Ethernet Cards? · · Score: 4
    This is just a wild guess but the i think the reasoning for no ethernet capibilities with the TViO is to limit the use of the saved video.

    If there is ever an Lan connection on a Tvio it'd take probably less than a week for some smart arsed hack, to reverse engeneer access to those files and a means to play back and store on a PC. TViO proably doesnt want to deal with the legal implications of this, as they hinted before in there comments on the Hardware hack, they dont mind as long as no one starts poking at the propietry video file format they have.

    Oblisk

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  15. Water = Life?.... So? on Evidence Of Water On Mars · · Score: 1
    Great We now have water on mars, and people start talking about life as if it would be a real reason to goto mars...

    Come on People there are plenty of other reasons to goto mars, its just that the governments of the world are more concerned with making people happy than exploration and scientific reaserch.

    Just becuase we find water and maybe life on mars makes the public go giddy. Though water says nothing of intellegent life. Take Earth for example tonnes of water, No sign of intellegent life in a 100 light year radius.

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  16. Concern For the Labs is misplaced.... on Los Alamos Lab: We're OK, You're OK · · Score: 3
    The Real concern for the government, should be for the Saftey and Mental stability of the many Scientists who work at LANL. Some of them no doubt lost their homes or had freinds who did.

    This loss or even the mere existance of the fire may scare away some of these reaserchers and thus cause a loss of results from the lab, and a lower moral. Something im sure the US government does not want.


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  17. They'd Be the most useful.... on Diablo II Beta Sign-Up Monday · · Score: 1
    Its these type of people who would find the little problems that more technical saavy people would know how to get around, or not consider a problem. Thus they would add to the polish and eliminate tech suppoert hassle from the millions of end users who only know how to turn on there computer and connect to AOL.


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  18. It's the combination of 2 Fears..... on Copy Protection - Scapegoat or Real Threat? · · Score: 1
    As per 3rd post, the Fear of Perfect Quality Digital duplicates, the VCR's and Cassete recorders of yesteryear were poorer in quality. Whereas now days anything digital can be duplicated digitally without quality loss.

    Combined with...

    The Mass distribution avalible through Computer Networks. With Tape's and Cassetes being only distributable through physical means, snail mail and person to person contact. The internet and lans, which have started to propigate our world, allow the distribution without physical contact or any real time delay (depending on bandwidth)

    The Culmanation of these two result in a situation where the original content producers material can be distributed much further than its initial medium and with out its control.


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  19. The 'Harm' done by porn on Interview: Anti-Censorware Activists Answer · · Score: 1
    what harm does porn do to children viewing it?

    None, unless its some really really nasty stuff. The reason adults want to protect kids from porn is twofold.

    1. They want to maintain the pathetic 'Western/Religious' taboo that will ultimatly be smashed in highschool that sex and anything sex related is bad. Especially the human in it's natural form, the way we were originally

    2. They want to avoid embarrassment when there kid asks 'What are those two doing mom?'
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  20. As An American Living in Australia on Charging for Cable Internet Access in Australia · · Score: 1
    Having Been Here since '94 I've watched the rise of the Internet in australia.

    There's one thing stopping the internet in this country, The Government.

    Right now in sydney the situation constists of about 1000 dialup isps and 1 consumer high bandwidth isp. While the Infastructure is in place for high bandwidth big buisness aint letting it

    Some history about the infastructure's history:
    When australia recived Cable TV back in '95, it's a shock going from 50 stations to 5. There were 2 companies, one the government owned phone company, Telstra and Optus. Due to some arcane planning both companies decided to lay there own cable instead of sharing the costs involved in deploying the infastructure. The end result is that some of sydney is covered by both companies, while other parts have only coverage for one and some are without coverage.

    And now the govenment has sold off about 1/2 of telstra, when the should have sold all of it yet repurchased the infastructure thus allowing them to lease the infatructure and keeping the competition around for customers.

    From personal experience, its outrageous that my neighbors 2 doors from me can get cable and connect at 50kbps while my max connection is 31.2kbps. While in the country everyone is gaurnteed 56k while we get stuck with shit

    If the government wanted to show it's doing something for the country and the internet it should lay the infastructure and stop dicking around with content laws until everyone has DECENT net access. /Rant
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  21. Australian Government Dosn't know what it wants on Australian Government Cracks Down on Net Users · · Score: 1
    Right now australia is lead by John howard, the Prime Minester, and the leader of the liberal party. (yes you could also argue that the it is lead by the queen but for day to day things it is the PM)

    The problem with the government right now is their complete lack of vision, this is true for both major political parties in Aus. The ruling givernment fears change like anything, esp the prime minister, and due to the very very small majority they'll do nothing to disrupt it.

    THe big proof for this was how Mr. Howard pretty much sabotaged the repbulic vote, which if it would had been passed might have gotten his name in the history books.

    Unfortunatly in aus everything done has a political purpose i've yet to see one politicion who wanted to do something for the good of the community. The only reason we have the censorship bill coming into effect 1st of 2000 is b/c the government needed to appease a senator and they needed votes from the mothers of australia who see the net as the big bad wolf who'll consume there 'innocent' kids. This new bill appears to be providing for a way of spying, marring people extreamly easily. Which would no doubt be of great use to the polititions of australia in there ever ending bid to keep those superannuation packages growing for each year in parliment.

    I recommend people possibly write letters to the editor in the major aussie newspapers, (age, SMH, australian) to get this out into the public sphere before its too late
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  22. Singularities.... on Time Doesn't Exist · · Score: 2
    According to Classical General Relativity, there are only 2 areas where time ceases to exist:

    A singularity, where the Curvature of space is infinte and there exists something with a volume of zero and infinite density. Time and General Relativity Break down here.

    Velocities at the Speed of light, time dialation becomes infinte and time stops for anything with a velocity of c.

    From what i can understand from this article is Time does not exist on a Universal scale, it is kind of like the homogenity of the universe. 'The universe is symmetrical only on a universal scale'. In other words time exists when your reference frame is smaller than the whole universe.

    However, If Time just dosent exist, i wasted allot of nothing on a paper on singularities which is compleatly misguided as of this new (wait it can't be new b/c there isn't time) research.

    Argh i'll prolly have to fit something on this in my conclusion,
    oblisk

    P.S. Thank god for the slowness of radical ideas acceptance in science.
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  23. Suggestion on High Intensity Computer Colleges? · · Score: 1
    If your interested in AI or Physics, take a math or physics degree (give you broadest options) undergrad then make a move towards CS in grad or in the work force.

    other School to look at for you:
    UCB
    Harvy Mudd
    CalTech (more for physics, same problems as MIT/CMU)
    UIUC (good physics, vg EE/CE and Nat supercomp center is there)

    email if you got any Q's, i'll prolly beable to think of somemore options for yah.

    Oblisk

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  24. Public School was started for indoctrination on New Mexico Drops Creationists, Decides to Evolve · · Score: 1
    The main reason for the rapid rise of public schooling in the 20 years before WW1, was for the indoctrination of nationalistic beliefs into school kids, this was esp true in England. However it wasn't jsut the beliefs they also wanted there kids to be beter than anyone elses, these beliefs there were instilling just added fuel to the fire in the lead up to WWI

    Hitler used schools as great indoctrinators, and then controlled the kids even more with his Hitler Youth Clubs.

    The main problem with Public schooling is the fact that they force you to accept morals and adhere to standards. Not doing so causes punishment, outcasting etc. (i think Jon katz talked about it more & better in his articles after the columbine shootings).


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  25. What about NURBS? on Revolution in Graphics? · · Score: 3
    I'm unable to reach the Link, yet There are a few more options than just positioning polygons for rendering. The solid modelling mentioned above is one that i know a little about. However NURBS have been around for quite a while and are rather powerful and very useful.

    Definition:
    NURBS, Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines, are mathematical representations of 3-D geometry that can accurately describe any shape from a simple 2-D line, circle, arc, or curve to the most complex 3-D organic free-form surface or solid. Because of their flexibility and accuracy, NURBS models can be used in any process from illustration and animation to manufacturing.

    I know the use of NURBS are really easy and flexible as they are simply splines which can be ajusted by certain control points and different wieghting. They have easily replaced charachter modelling from polygons in the past 2 years.

    I remeber speculation on hardware which could render/raytrace NURBS and other spline based modelling, directly w/o conversion to polys. However i've yet to see it materiealize.

    Some of the Better NURBS modeller's avalible are:
    Maya A linux port of this is supposedly floating around SGI and some of the larger software houses.

    Rhino3D Shame its windows only, yet there's some reports of it successful in Wine.

    Enjoy, Oblisk


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