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Comment Re:uhh (Score 1) 549

I don't think colonizing before terraforming (assuming we even bother) is putting the cart before the horse, unless you assume that the only way humans can live is on an Earth-like planet. Why should we limit ourselves that way? As for needing more advanced technology, the way you push technology forward is by trying to solve specific problems. Basic research is also useful, but directed, focused efforts get farther, faster.

Comment Re:Not just relabeling (Score 1) 942

I guess, we agree. When you switch to metric, you won't "rewrite" an old plan into a new one. You keep the old and make complete new plan, as everything will change slightly.

E.g. if you have a thing that is 1 foot 1 inch in square you likely will design the next version 33cm or 330mm square and _not_ 330.2mm

All the holes you drill for screws will be in mm and not in a "recalculated" 1/4" into 6.35mm Of course you will only need/use metric tools for such a new design.

However you you keep the old tools as you have to work on old devices for a while.

Of course no one should mix both systems in one design.

Comment Re:the solution: (Score 1) 651

The point is that freedom of speech and association are far, far more important than the ability to carry cool looking guns, in terms of actually getting anything done politically.

Up to a point, that's true. But you simply raise the same question again: Are you arguing that since we're letting some of our rights slip we should also let the 2A go? Or do you believe that if we ignored the 2A that would some how make it easier to defend freedom of speech and association? I'd argue that it would help to undermine them, by providing yet another precedent showing that the "living Constitution" means whatever we want it to, making it meaningless.

The US's privately held arsenal has so far been useless in preventing the creation of a semi-fascist state.

Because it hasn't yet gotten bad enough to justify large-scale rebellion. Let us hope that it never does.

I think that the right to keep and bear arms serves two functions in this respect. The first is that it preserves at least a semblance of the ability to resist tyranny by force. The subtler and perhaps more important function is as a bellwether... and a trigger.

Bug

Xen Cloud Fix Shows the Right Way To Patch Open-Source Flaws 81

darthcamaro writes Amazon, Rackspace and IBM have all patched their public clouds over the last several days due to a vulnerability in the Xen hypervisor. According to a new report, the Xen project was first advised of the issue two weeks ago, but instead of the knee jerk type reactions we've seen with Heartbleed and now Shellshock, the Xen project privately fixed the bug and waited until all the major Xen deployments were patched before any details were released. Isn't this the way that all open-source projects should fix security issues? And if it's not, what is?

Comment Re:Antecdotes != Evidence (Score 1) 577

The "magic" is: you simply remove what you have installed. And thats it. On windows that is more or less impossible. I mean: who came to the idea that you need a "deinstaller"?

Your examples make sense, ofc additional functionality costs, however on windows random crap costs suddenly speed ... your boot time example e.g. is wrong.

Such an desktop app would be started after boot, in the user context, and the Mac would be useable and responsive already even with a back ground app starting to display something on the desktop.

BTW: who made this stupid "subject" :D Anecdotes are Evidence just like any other evidence is ... anyway, another topic.

Medicine

After Dallas Ebola Diagnosis, CDC Raises Estimate of Patient's Possible Contacts 258

As reported by Bloomberg News, The Washington Post, and other outlets, the Liberian patient whose diagnosis of Ebola infection marks him as the first such case to have been first diagnosed within the United States may have had contact with more people than previously estimated, and 80 people in the Dallas area are now believed to have come into contact with him. While Bloomberg reports that this larger group of potential contacts is "being monitored for symptoms," the Washington Post's slightly later story says that, in keeping with the best current knowledge about Ebola's spread, "Dallas County Health and Human Services Director Zachary Thompson said that these [newly identified contacts] are not being watched or monitored and are not showing any symptoms of the illness. Only the immediate family members of the victim are being regularly monitored for Ebola symptoms; they've been ordered to stay at home and avoid contact with others."

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