Kyle Perkins

Yes, a life without a computer is possible. Look at all those poor saps who lived before the computer was invented . However, life without a computer would be very unpleasant, and very different. We'd have very simple automobiles, simple machinery, simple aircraft, and we'd still be using dial-in telephones. Definitely no space flight. Not to mention the abacus would be used in place of the calculator...My point is that without computers, life would be pretty primative, but not entirely unlivable.-Kyle

Though it's a bit confusing at times, I really like Gmail, and think it's great. It has superb features, superb space available, and superb, well, nearly everything's superb! I also really like its easy system of adding attachments, and finding an email address from your address book. Speaking of which, I have invites, so if anybody wants one, pm me.-Kyle

Though it certainly is elegant, I don't like the new periodic table. No atomic masses are listed, plus it's difficult to find things. Also, when figuring out things like which shell or orbital an element is in (thus allowing you to find electron notation and electron configuration) would be more difficult, as they are all spread out on the new table.Anyway, from the article I gathered this thing is actually being distributed to schools in Britain?I wonder if/when it will hit other countries...hopefully not until I'm out of school, as it would make things really confusing for those transitioning from the old table to the new.-Kyle

Great example of how technology is both good and bad KitKat. I can see a definite advantage to using neutron radiation technology to scan for defects in metal, as that could be used for many other things besides airplane turbines: metal framework on buildings, testing the hulls of ships, even using it on a space station or spacecraft to test for minor defects either before going into space or before re-entry.This is rather off topic, but the neutron bomb is a rather freaky thing... One of the scariest things I can think of is to wake up one day, find that the world has been neutron-bombed into oblivion, and have everything be empty of all life. There would just be these buildings and vehicles with nobody inside, and maybe some minor structural damage. Scary...Anyway, I think that (as with most technology) neutron radiation's good points outweigh it's bad, and that if used properly it's a great tool.-Kyle

Woah, that's indeed a weird animal. Eyes the size of a volleyball? Heh, this certainly brings to mind 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea...Anyway, I also think it's strange that one of these creatures haven't been seen alive. Are they that reclusive? I mean, there's been more sightings of UFOs, Bigfoot, and the Chupacabra (all of which may not be real) than these very real squid.Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction, eh?-Kyle

Argh, another thing I just saw.

Laptops will run for days at an incredible speed, with ultra bright, super thin, plama displays.

That would be absolutely great...but not feasible currently, and not for a while unless some different power sources are developed. Currently, the best battery money can buy is a rechargable Lithium-ion battery, or Li-ion. Lithium is currently the best metal for a battery, and we aren't exactly going to find any new elements any time soon.
There are of course fuel cells, which I've heard are a promising power source, and have heard that a cell phone company and laptop company have created some experimental products, but don't know much about fuel cells. Anybody care to find out?

-Kyle

Sorry for not sticking this in my previous post, but I sorta just thought of it.

I have come to think that there are 2 major "things" that will stand in the way.
1. Religion. Religion has almost always been the cause of conflict, Richard the Lion Heart on the crusades, Egypt and Syria against Israel, St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. It is religion that is currently fuelling the spate of terrorism that is being rained down on the west, since it was the west that supported the creation of Israel and still (through the U.S. selling arms such as F16s etc.) provides support for the continued occupation of Palestine.

Absolutely. I have nothing against anyone, or any religion, but think that religion has spawned nearly every major conflict this earth has seen. If a group thought another group's religious views were savage, ignorant, or just annoying, they would to and conquer. Also, religion held science back since man first started to think "Hey, maybe that lightning bolt isn't sent by a god..." Many great scientists, Galileo for example, were persecuted for their beliefs by a religion. I think as science progresses, there will probably be religion to stand in the way.

2. Money. The future is like a game of monopoly, we all keep going round and round driven by money, it like Bitter Sweet symphony "Your a slave to money then you die". I am currently following the thread of thought that capitalism is what will eventually destroy the world (not in a literal since) by continually separating people.

I think money has definitely done this, but unfortunately I enjoy having money, and don't think capitalism will go down without a fight.

-Kyle

I think it's very possible that the crime rate will go down, simply because of the fact that crime solving technology will undoubtedly increase drastically.-Kyle

I agree, Y2K was really silly, but you have to wonder...everyone did everything they could to prepare for Y2K; everything from buying special programs, backing up files, increasing the redundancy of networks, power grids, increasing the speed and adaptability of computers - then nothing happened. What if everyone doing all they could to avoid getting bit by the so-called Y2K bug is actually what prevented it from happening? Could we have actually avoided catastrophe by going through all the hassle improving technology?Anyway, back on topic, I don't think we'll have colonized any planets, but I definitely think we'll have sent a manned mission to Mars, and possibly have a colony on the moon.-Kyle

Heh, yeah, my 486 has one of the old 5 1/4 floppy drives, a 3 1/4 inch floppy drive, and an old CD-ROM drive (4x, I think!). I have two full boxes of brand new, unused 5 1/4 disks, don't ask me why. I also have 3 other extra 5 1/4 drives, and an old NIC with BNC port (for co-axial cable) somewhere.-Kyle

Hello,Though I love having the fastest and the greatest, and am yearning to go to Best Buy and purchase one of the new Terabyte hard drives, I still am passionate about the old legacy systems, the ones that made history. The 386s, the 486s...I personally own a 486 (with Windows 95 though, it was upgraded) and an old Hewlett Packard NetServer LHII with Windows 2000. The server weighs about as much as I do, and takes up a ton of space, but I still keep the old behemoth around (it's name when you go to system properties is Leviathan )Anybody else out there have any old machines that still run?-Kyle

That is absolutely true. Any chunk of dirt touched by the bomb is pretty much useless until the radioactivity goes away. This planet is already too small for our growing population, so things would get a lot worse if we start destroying land by irradiating it.-Kyle

There's no way that thing is the new XBox, and if it is, then Microsoft has finally gone over the edge. And, XBox 360?? That's probably the dumbest name for a game console ever thought up. It has nothing to do with the fact that the system is the sucessor to XBox, or anything.I agree that it's probably put out by Microsoft as a ruse to fool people away from the real XBox 2.-Kyle

Hey everyone, I've been thinking about the future recently, and just wonder what people think life will be like 20 years from now (or 30, 50, 100, years...you choose). Will we be colonizing the stars? Or glowing green from nuclear bomb attacks.I think 20 years from now, two small nuke-toting countries will blow themselves up in some war, probably over religion. Most of humanity will realize how horrific nuclear weapons are, and ban them (though, you'll still have some idiots who refuse, of course). Hopefully, we'll begin devoting energy into bettering our society and preserving out planet, rather than destroying anyone with different beliefs than us.Of course, what do I know. I like to think that we change for the better, but we might just start "the war to end all wars."-Kyle

A question about iPods: is it true that they use a proprietary type of music file? As in - if you download a song onto an iPod, can you just put it on another mp3 player and make it play? I've been debating purchasing an iPod, but if the song filetype it uses only works on iPods, I don't see much of a point...-Kyle

I have nothing against runners, but I think this is a pointless waste of technology. After a while, the shoes will wear out, and they (chips and all) will be thrown away, to go sit in a landfill somewhere, poisoning the ground. This is a bit off topic, but I also think that spending money to develop disposable DVDs (as Blockbuster movie rental stores are utilizing) is an entirely pointless waste of effort, time, and resources. The DVDs are watched a few times, and then the data on the disk corrupts, rendering the disk usless trash. This was developed only because people are too lazy to drive back to the store and return a movie they have rented. Microchips in shoes may be useful to people who run, but to me it's just wasted silicon.-Kyle

I have used Gmail for about 3 or 4 months, and find it an extremely nice email service. It has around 2125 MB (at little over 2 GB) of free storage per user (and is steadily increasing its storage). This is absolutely the most free storage space I've EVER seen in an email service. Also, instead of cluttering your inbox with tons of replies to your emails, it groups them in 'conversations,' or when someone replies to an email of yours, it appears as one conversation where you can view all responses with one click. Also, it has an autocomplete fuction for typing in email addresses when you compose a new one. If the email address is customerservice@dell.com, and you've sent an email to that person before, it will show up when you just type the letter c (as will any other previously sent to addresses that start with c).Anyway, if anyone is interested in a gmail account, email me at KylePerkins88@gmail.com and I'll give you an invite.-Kyle

Hey, thanks to both of you. So far I'm doing alright, we're learning how to program routers with Hyperterminal currently. But, if I ever need any help, I'll know who to ask!-Kyle

Hey, not sure if this is the right forum, but I was just curious about open source software and operating systems (like Linux). How do programs that are open source make any money for their creator? Are they only produced with intent to better the computer-using portion of humanity? Or do their creators somehow make money. Also, out of curiosity, how does one edit open source software; With a text editor, or is it more complicated?-Kyle

I've never heard of anything like that, but I guess anything is possible. If you find out more about it, you should post it in. That would be amazing if they have really found a cure.-Kyle

I'm in an Information Technology class right now, which by the end of it next year will have taught us enough information to pass our CCNA. Does anybody here have their CCNA? What about other certifications, like the Net Plus? I'm just curious.-Kyle

I'm sure this has been said before in this discussion, but I really like Spybot Search and Destroy. It's free, it's updated regularly, and it does a great job eliminated annoying spyware. Do a Google search for it, and you'll find many download sites, including the official Spybot S&D site. I've used it for a long time now, and have had no serious problems, and my computer's been spyware free.Off topic, but if you're having problems with popups, I recommend either the Google toolbar (free) or the Norton version of a Popup/Adware blocker.-Kyle

I just looked it up, and it is pretty cool. I had never heard of it before. I think the original Segway might be more useful though. It would be difficult to navigate city streets with the Centaur.I really can't see much use for the Centaur. You can't really ride it on trails, and it's too big for city sidewalk navigation.If I was going to spend a lot of money on something like the Centaur, I'd just go and buy a 4-wheeler. -Kyle

A while ago there was a topic on the forums that told a line of java code that, when entered into the url bar of a web browser, would tell you the time the page you are looking at was last updated. Does anybody know what this is? I've forgotten it, and found it really useful.-Kyle

I've never read The Hot Zone, but went and looked and discovered I have the book. I'll have to put it on my large "must read" list. Heh. Anyway, I hadn't heard of that particular strain of Ebola. Do you know anything about how common it is or any of it's symptoms? I'm just curious about it.Off topic, but I think one of these day's we're going to dredge up a really terrible virus in our burning of the deep rainforest. When will people learn...-Kyle