Some quantum properties might be usable, but quantum computing sounds like snake oil of the worst class.
My personal opinion is that quantum computing is - currently - mainly a means to get fat grants.
Roberto
Of course, there are other encryption schemes that seem to work just fine (e.g. Elliptic curve cryptography) with quantum computing, and there's not much evidence that algorithms other than RSA are broken.
Actually, all discrete-logarithm based schemes can be broken in polynomial time by quantum computing, hence also elliptic curve cryptography.The details have to be re-worked out for each such scheme, but that's true also of any classical attack. See for instance http://www.mathcs.richmond.edu/~jad/summerwork/ellipticcurvequantum.pdf
Roberto
Skimming, kickbacks, outright bribery. Sadly it seems the only way people get anything done in this city is if they can take a slice off the top. The honest guys and small time thieves have little incentive to really push things. The deeply corrupt get an awful lot done. One percent off the top gets to be a larger amount the more they accomplish.
Still, I do not like that...
I'm not so sure about that. My home town has always had some issues with corruption, but it seems when we get some good quality corruption going we actually have growth.
Define "good quality corruption".
Roberto
It is still better an honest incompetent than an outright criminal in charge. I'm not so sure about that. I'd rather have a competent judge who fixes traffic tickets for his friends than an incompetent one. Of course, worse is one who is both crooked and incompetent.
Well, there are smaller misbehaviours and bigger things. To fix traffic tickets for friends is of course a crime, but it would be difficult to consider it a major crime (even though it gives a very bad example, and can ruin the trust between citizen and institutions). But a prime minister with ties to the mafia, that is totally unacceptable.
Roberto
Is there any chance that this will change in the near future? Another question is how long can Berlusconi stay in power?
He has a plan to be cloned from the nose once he dies.
Roberto
lobbyists never give up!
In this case the lobbyist is the president and his gang of thugs. The voters still love him though, so he stays in power despite countless scandals http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Berlusconi#Legal_problems ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Berlusconi#Controversies. Democracy doesn't work so well when people vote on looks and television presence rather than actual issues. Or when one person control vast amounts of the news media.
we vote for berlusconi because there are no alternatives, the commies had their chance a few years ago and their government blew up after less than 2 years because they couldn't agree on anything even if they were allied he might not be the best option ever, but it's the best we have right now
It is still better an honest incompetent than an outright criminal in charge.
Roberto
However the law needs improvements: currently it targets the disseminators (journalists) while the real targets should be the ones who let the information out in the first place (judges and their staff).
Exactly. The journalist should not be held liable if he publishes information he gets from other sources. Those that leak the info are of course responsible. For instance: Bradley Manning is liable for leaking info he was supposed to keep secret, Julian Assange (Wikileaks founder) should NOT be held liable. It's simple. The italian law is de facto introducting censorship.
Roberto
Hitler didn't have a laptop in school, and look how THAT turned out!
Godwin's law at work!
No, it wreaks of someone getting a kickback under the table.
It reeks of someone getting a kickback under the table.
Actually, the single entity responsible for the outcome of the war was Archimedes. He used his death ray to take out large numbers of German ships in the harbor at Syracuse, thus singlehandedly reducing the size of the Roman navy below what was necessary to sustain an attack! @ ^*\/.NO CARRIER
THAT'S why Germany was against helping Greece in the current financial crisis!!!
Roberto
Actually, this looks like it has a lot less parts than the typical automatic transmission, plus it looks like it can be reconfigured to take up a lot less space.
Looking again, it seems that you may be right.
Roberto
No joke. The constitutions and other founding legal documents of all modern governments should have included a clause stating that when any politician, law enforcement officer, or other government official breaks the law, they will be subject to three times the penalty (fines, duration of incarceration, or both) that an ordinary citizen would suffer had he or she done the same. The reasoning is that when they break the law, it represents a threat to the institution of law and the concept of the rule of law, both of which are fundamental and essential to the functioning of modern society.
How does that fit with another central tenet of justice, that she is blind, and/or "All are equal before the law"?
The way to punish those who make laws for breaking them is not to spank them three times as hard, it's to spank them. The problem is, most of the time we don't spank them at all.
There is no contradiction. First, we do not need such clauses in the constitution, because they are too generic (what is three times death penalty?) but law CAN state that being a public official is an aggravating circumstance when committing a crime. For some classes of crimes it can then be stated that penalties can be, say, at least doubled and at most tripled.
This is not in contradition to the fact that all are equal before the law. Once the law states that.
Roberto
I have prepared a very long speach. Really very long. Then I realised everything you said from the beinning was crap so I deleted it and decided to leave you with this : You said Android gives power to the cellular operators, that's not true.
I decided to take the bait because you spew so much crap.
What I said was true. And, by the way I said that Android gives power to the cellular operators and to the cellular providers. Which is clear, because everybody can take the source and modify it.
For instance all the HTC Branded (not HTC made) smartphone come with NO custumization from the carrier whatsoever. I guess you were thinking about phones that are carrier specific (verizon ans such have many)
So you never heard of the Sense UI. OK, fine. This is a brand customization. Not evil per se, but it is customization. Of course this is added choice, so in fact I am not criticizing it. But it is clear that the manufacturer can change the way the OS works
And you never heard of the carrier specific ROMs that do not allow you to access the marketplace (there are some of them in Australia) or the ROMs that will only allow you to buy from a provider specific marketplace (there are some in Europe). ROM that are installed that block tethering (so you really have to modify the OS heavily to have it). Sorry, but they exist. It is not my fault that you are ignorant. And in some cases the user CANNOT reflash the phones. On several phones there is no such provision. Unless you root it, and it is not always possible because, as with jailbreak, it depends on an exploit. Vodafone in Germany has modified their Magics so that you cannot upgrade to Android 2.x. Now tell me how this is NOT giving power to the cell service provider.
Of course Android gives also more choice to the user. Who is disputing that. But not all are nerds that root their devices.
There is only one thing worse than apple fanboys, apparently: Android fanboys.
Roberto
Happiness is twin floppies.
