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New Scientist Simple programs make file sharing inevitable - Technology |
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Topic: Miscellaneous |
8:15 pm EST, Jan 7, 2005 |
] In a bid to demonstrate the futility of trying to ban ] peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, a computer scientist ] has written the shortest P2P program ever. ] ] ] Like all P2P applications, Tiny P2P, written by Edward ] Felten of Princeton University in New Jersey, establishes ] a network between PCs on which files can be transferred ] without using a central server. Members of the network ] make content on their hard drives available to everyone ] else. But this decentralisation allows, for instance, ] movie pirates to hide illicit footage more easily. New Scientist Simple programs make file sharing inevitable - Technology |
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RE: Slashdot | Wikipedia Criticised by Its Co-founder |
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Topic: Technology |
9:02 pm EST, Jan 4, 2005 |
Decius wrote: ] ] Wikipedia is under criticism by its co-founder Larry ] ] Sanger who has left the project. He warns of a possible ] ] future fork due to Wikipedia's Anti-Elitism and he ] ] presents his view on Wikipedia's (lack of) reliability. ] ] I've been wondering when this was going to start. The "anyone ] can edit this" mantra has finally found some respected ] detractors. The question is, how do you decide who is an ] expert? You don't have experts. Reality is decided by consensus. The right look at the world through their ideology so does the left and so do liberals. Fundamentalist Christians and Muslims view the world through a lens. We all sit in the mouth of the cave watching the shadows play on the walls and think we see the outside world. I read Shakespeare and am told that he is a great writer. I read Shakespeare at University and make up my own mind as did my peers. Each generation makes up its own mind. Reputations ebb and flow with intellectual fashion. The cliche of Mozart and van Gogh not being fully appreciated when alive. These things take time to settle down and sometimes never fully settle down. Oliver Cromwell hero or villain? The expert is the alpha male/female of the tribe that everybody listens to, often a different person depending on the subject, and it is decided by consensus. Or alternatively the expert depends on which grouping within the tribe you ask. Different groups have different experts, different nodal points in the great cacophony that we call culture and civilisation, those individuals who, maybe only for that 15 minutes of fame, are perceived to most eloquently articulate a point of view held, perhaps only partly, by some group, or sub set of some group, within the tribe. Wikipedia is a forum, a thought space and I believe a valuable one. RE: Slashdot | Wikipedia Criticised by Its Co-founder |
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Topic: Miscellaneous |
1:06 pm EST, Jan 2, 2005 |
very cool resource Internet Archive |
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Topic: Current Events |
10:32 am EST, Jan 2, 2005 |
Rather than keep adding fuel to the fire, can we just drop this? My thoughts: Decius: It is not that easy to figure out the original poster. If you could include the original topic in the thread, or something to otherwise designate that it originally came from User X on Date Y, it would prevent a lot of these cases of mistaken identity. I had to go click on your Memestream to backtrack and find out you were the original poster. I too thought Dolemite was the one who wrote it. Am I stupid and lazy too? As for the issue itself, I don't need to be told I am a jerk if I don't do this or that. I'm glad you're concerned, but you should have found a nicer way to convey it to others. Terratogen and Vile: The following words aren't my words, they are from another forum, but they sum up my thoughts on unwanted solicitation and the guilt trips some people try to play: ... "people do not like to be solicited for charitable donations. charity should be a personal choice. personally, ii'll be donating, but i'd be hard pushed to think less of anyone who chooses not to. i'm motivated by the fact that there are human beings out there, whose relatives have been killed, property has been destroyed, roots have been ripped up, permanence has been wiped out, accumulated wealth is meaningless, and who are now facing cholera, typhoid and worse with no medical infrastructure. the horror of this situation is of such a magnitude that it's impossible to imagine from my comfy little flat in scotland. so... i'll donate. but that's my choice. ... Concern for an issue like this is manifest in different ways. I think Tom's way might have struck a nerve, sure, it did with me too. And of course people's responses to being affronted will differ. Some will say "Fuck you" to the person, other's will say "Fuck you and fuck them" to the people affected. That's fine. I have to disagree with both counts, but that's your opinion and you're free to speak it. And I'm free to say, have a heart will ya? I guess I'm trying to say, "Can't we all just get along?" Any flames from this go straight to /dev/null. RE: Tsunami Relief |
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Evidence bubbles over to support tabletop nuclear fusion device |
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Topic: Science |
3:16 pm EST, Mar 14, 2004 |
] Researchers are reporting new evidence supporting their ] earlier discovery of an inexpensive "tabletop" device ] that uses sound waves to produce nuclear fusion ] reactions. ] ] The researchers believe the new evidence shows that ] "sonofusion" generates nuclear reactions by creating tiny ] bubbles that implode with tremendous force. Nuclear ] fusion reactors have historically required large, ] multibillion-dollar machines, but sonofusion devices ] might be built for a fraction of that cost. Freakin cool Evidence bubbles over to support tabletop nuclear fusion device |
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NASA's O'Keefe Stands Firm on Hubble Decision, But Agrees to New Study |
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Topic: Science |
3:55 pm EST, Mar 12, 2004 |
] As startling new images from the Hubble space telescope ] were unveiled in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 9, U.S. ] Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) vowed to continue fighting ] NASA%u2019s decision to cancel a shuttle mission intended ] to extend the life of the beloved astronomy satellite. ] ] Just two days later, Mikulski appeared to have won an ] important battle when NASA agreed to an outside study of ] the Hubble issue lead by the National Academy of ] Sciences. But later that same day, during a meeting with ] reporters, NASA Administrator Sean O%u2019Keefe said that ] as long as he remains in charge of NASA, the chance that ] a shuttle will be launched to Hubble are slim to none. NASA's O'Keefe Stands Firm on Hubble Decision, But Agrees to New Study |
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Wired News: Warning: Blogs Can Be Infectious |
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Topic: Miscellaneous |
3:21 pm EST, Mar 5, 2004 |
] The most-read webloggers aren't necessarily the ones with ] the most original ideas, say researchers at ] Hewlett-Packard Labs. ] ] Using newly developed techniques for graphing the flow of ] information between blogs, the researchers have ] discovered that authors of popular blog sites regularly ] borrow topics from lesser-known bloggers -- and they ] often do so without attribution. ] These findings are important to ] sociologists who are interested in learning how ideas ] grow from isolated topics into full-blown epidemics that ] "infect" large populations. Such an understanding is also ] important to marketers, who hope to be able to pitch ] products and ideas directly to the mos Wired News: Warning: Blogs Can Be Infectious |
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Save Hubble Resolution Introduced in House |
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Topic: Miscellaneous |
2:28 pm EST, Mar 5, 2004 |
] A Colorado congressman and seven colleagues introduced a ] resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives March 3 ] urging NASA to establish an independent panel of experts ] to review its recent decision to forgo any further ] servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope. Save Hubble Resolution Introduced in House |
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