Group items tagged

"Despite incredibly suspicious circumstances, the death of Grooveshark co-founder Josh Greenberg has been ruled a 'no suicide' by coroners. In an autopsy report leaked Tuesday afternoon to Digital Music News, Greenberg's abrupt death was mysteriously identified as 'Undetermined,' with no abnormal concentrations of toxins or other unusual post-mortem conditions found."

"Despite incredibly suspicious circumstances, the death of Grooveshark co-founder Josh Greenberg has been ruled a 'no suicide' by coroners. In an autopsy report leaked Tuesday afternoon to Digital Music News, Greenberg's abrupt death was mysteriously identified as 'Undetermined,' with no abnormal concentrations of toxins or other unusual post-mortem conditions found."

"First, you should observe that there are two distinct domains - the descriptive domain and the predictive domain - and that data and information belong to the descriptive domain. I like Davenport and Prusaks' (1998, pp 2-3) definition of data as being "a set of discrete, objective facts existing in symbolic form that have not been interpreted". The symbolic form may be text, images, or pre-processed code. Data is usually organised into structured records, however it lacks context. The declaration 'Iron melts at 1,538 degrees Celsius.' is a data statement because it has no context. In this model when data is enriched by adding context it may become information. Information is data with a message, and therefore has a receiver and sender. It is data with relevance and purpose that is useful for a particular task, and is meant to enlighten the receiver and shape their outlooks or insights. Information results in an action that allows the data to be applied to a specific set of circumstances and to be employed effectively. Data only becomes information after it has been interpreted by the receiver. Furthermore information is descriptive. For example the statement 'Newcastle steel-mill's smelter temperature has been set at 2,300 degrees Celsius.' conveys information because it has been enriched by context. The enrichment from data to information is a 'know what and how' procedure that results in an understanding of relationships and patterns. However, information by itself remains descriptive and without additional data or information it cannot be used to predict an event or outcome."

"Kendell Clark: My Linux story This article details the circumstances behind my switch away from proprietary operating systems and my switch to Linux. Like many, I switched out of frustration with other operating systems and not directly because of Linux's open source model. I developed my passion for that after the switch was made."

"The impact of technological change on culture, learning, and morality has long been the subject of intense debate, and every technological revolution brings out a fresh crop of both pessimists and pollyannas. Indeed, a familiar cycle has repeat itself throughout history whenever new modes of production (from mechanized agriculture to assembly-line production), means of transportation (water, rail, road, or air), energy production processes (steam, electric, nuclear), medical breakthroughs (vaccination, surgery, cloning), or communications techniques (telegraph, telephone, radio, television) have appeared on the scene. The cycle goes something like this. A new technology appears. Those who fear the sweeping changes brought about by this technology see a sky that is about to fall. These "techno-pessimists" predict the death of the old order (which, ironically, is often a previous generation's hotly-debated technology that others wanted slowed or stopped). Embracing this new technology, they fear, will result in the overthrow of traditions, beliefs, values, institutions, business models, and much else they hold sacred. The pollyannas, by contrast, look out at the unfolding landscape and see mostly rainbows in the air. Theirs is a rose-colored world in which the technological revolution du jour is seen as improving the general lot of mankind and bringing about a better order. If something has to give, then the old ways be damned! For such "techno-optimists," progress means some norms and institutions must adapt-perhaps even disappear-for society to continue its march forward. Our current Information Revolution is no different. It too has its share of techno-pessimists and techno-optimists. Indeed, before most of us had even heard of the Internet, people were already fighting about it-or at least debating what the rise of the Information Age meant for our culture, society, and economy."

does Kurtopia need someone to mow the lawn?

no, but we do need someone to take our throm-dib-u-lator apart though