adriantc

I know the European Union doesn't have a long history, but I think it is important for children to learn it. Why? Because it will be a common subject... it will bring us together. It's not a big thing, but it is a start. Even in todays Europe there are still a lot of hate... I'm sure that the Germans, for example, haven't forgot that they lost 2 world wars, even though the Chancellor doesn't comment on that. So anything that tightens the bonds between countries is a good thing. A must would be a common European language; a language that wouldn't belong to a country but would be artificially created to serve this objective... a language similar to Esperanto.Bottom line is that a European history would be a good thing since it will underline cooperation between countries. And that is something our children should learn.

Same opinion here... This J Watson may very well have been one of the KKK. And even if it were scientifically true (a fact which I highly doubt) he shouldn't have published his findings. Racial hate does not need an incentive... Not the centuries of slavery an easy excuse... I don't personally know any colored people, but I have a few in my collage and I feel good every time I see them since I consider myself cosmopolitan. I believe that once people of the earth will mix this kind of judgments will be impossible. Hate, wars, death all comes from our differences... once they will disappear so will the hate between the brothers of the same specie. As you I also think they don't have the same chances in life a white man has. I'm sure that is why they don't win so many Nobel prizes... surely not because they are stupid, but because they don't receive the same amount of education a white man receives. This doctor should not forget that the so "wise" and "smart" white people considered for centuries the black not as human beings, not as their equals. And when they... we.... have finally have started having remorses we backed up leaving them unorganized, half civilized and in total chaos. Africa is still trying to recover after being "milked" so long by the "smart" white people. This J Watson should be ashamed of calling himself a scientist and a doctor!

Although I'm not a Harry Potter fan I find that deeply disturbing. Putting gay people into children books may have some side effects. I don't agree with homosexual behavior as I don't agree to use force against it. But people should see homosexuality is not normal. And even if some people refuse to admit the horrible truth society has a role in the homosexuality behavior since it puts a "normal" stamp on homosexuality. I don't want to make they homosexuals what they are not, but I do want to make clear for the rest of us that homosexuality is NOT normal. So putting a gay character in Harry Potter, which has a huge effect on so many children, could potentially do more bad then good. To tolerate does not mean to advertise homosexuality. And thats exactly what J.K. Rowling is doing!

In 99.99% of the cases girls look better with makeup. Yeah it's the truth! Saying that a girl without makeup looks better then one with makeup (properly done) is like saying that it is not important if you win the contest, but the fact that you participate. But girls should be proud when using makeup, because if they can't (/forget/etc) use makeup they really look ugly. I guess it has to do with the first impression. If you first see her with makeup and then without makeup you will surely be disappointed. The other way is the best way to go, because if you consider her beautiful without the makeup she will look even better with makeup. But makeup properly done.For example when I had my graduation prom all the girls looked very hot (couldn't even believe my own eyes so hot some of them looked). Even the ones that where considered "less pretty". Makeup can perform huge miracles! But don't get fooled; whats underneath the makeup is important!

The United Nations do have power, but they don't want to use it. I am sure that Myanmar hasn't got any army that could oppose an armed intervention, but once again the big powers don't have anything to be gained from an intervention. In other words it's not about the power, I'm sure they have troops, tanks and planes, but about the will to do what is right no matter the costs. Human life isn't as valuable as oil or dollars. I have just watched Hotel Rwanda (really good movie... should have received one at least one or two Oscars, but guess movies like Brokeback Mountain are much better... what is happening with the Oscars?!? but thats another discussion). Another sad story where the UN hasn't lifted a finger... I can't possibly imagine a motive why the UN didn't intervene. No one learned anything from that experience.Still no one gives a damn if his pour neighbor is suffering.

I can't believe - I don't want to believe that the United Nations have no power. People are still suffering and dieing and China still opposes any action. It is no longer an internal issue, but a humanitarian problem. The United Nations should act with troops and stop the killings. The vast armies of the US or Great Britain or France or any other smaller army could come fight and finally do something good. Why in gods name should anyone use armies to bring peace? Guess there is no oil or money to be gained like in Iraq. Or I guess Myanmar isn't in the heart of Europe like Serbia is. Nobody does anything when there is nothing to be gained from it. So much for humanity... I don't think it is a pretense of war. There is war already out there and somebody should end it. And it has nothing to do with ideology, but with the fact that people are dieing out there. China isn't as communist as it used to be, but if you were to be beaten or killed in the middle of the street you would really want foreign help. I have just come across a website I would like to share with you: http://www.uscampaignforburma.org/

For some time now I have been watching what is happening in Myanmar, the killings that happen everyday. Everywhere in the world there is turmoil and I think the United Nations should take notice and act to bring peace, stability and democracy to the different regions. The United Nations should consider becoming the most important player in the world since it represent the whole of mankind. In Africa for example there are dozens of countries that require help in stopping internal strives and civil wars. Not to mention that the United Nation has the capability to intervene in such situations. Regarding the Myanmar situation I have heard that China and Russia used their veto right to stop any measures that would have helped that innocent monks. They said it was an internal matter but when the government does what it did in Myanmar the United Nations should (must) have intervened. The League of Nations (the former organization) designed to keep peace failed in its quest and the world plunged into a World War which took the life of over 60 million people. They must not let it happen yet again.What do you think?

I don't think Microsoft has any chance. They are not used to competition and when they do have competition they try to eliminate it as soon as possible thru more or less legal ways. But unlike other times the competition is a lot more powerful in all terms. Google does a great job, the search engine has become quite a habit for us. Today Google is even the icon of the Internet.Just imagine Google would stop working tomorrow... the search engine, the email, everything. It is the first true sign of Armageddon . Now picture same thing happening with Microsoft... what a nice world would that be! . But I guess none of that will ever happen.In a few words... Microsoft! You don't stand a chance! Google rocks!

I'm not going to fool anyone by saying that all my software is properly licensed. And I'm sure that 99% of you can say the same thing. If I were to add up all the costs of the software I have on my computer I would end up spending a year of my parents salary on software. I am myself a small (read student) programmer and I think I can realize how damaging is illegal software. It is the same case for music, movie, etc.But I don't think they should hunt the ones that only download for their own enjoyment, but they should hunt the ones that want to make money out of selling illegal software. I don't make any $ by programming (since I only do it for the fun of programming... the software I create are freeware or open-source) so how can Borland for example ask me for a few thousand $ for a license when I don't plan to make any money by using that software (it's just an example... Delphi is for over a half a year free). If it were by me I would make a law that would severely punish the ones that make money in some way or another by using/selling software/music/movies.I do hope Pirate Bay wins although I can't imagine that happening... The companies that Pirate Bay sues are much more powerful then they are. Pirate Bay exists today because it has it's server in a secure location, not because it has a army of lawyers. I can only wish them the best of luck!

There is a law on discussion in our parliament, but like everything that goes in discussion in (our) parliament it takes a lot of time to get out, specially if we want it approved. Unfortunately this is not the only terrible case of animal cruelty. I have seen on the news all kinds of people torturing their animals, specially horses. So what happened with those boy is not uncommon. Some are even harder to watch then the one I have shown here... But the problem with animal cruelty is not something you could blame on the law. It's something much important then any law and it's called education. No law can force anyone to give or receive education. Unfortunately no law can force anybody to have conscience. Conscience is in fact only thing that separates us from the animals, but some of us don't even have that. Even calling them animals is too much, because animals do not kill for fun. Some of us do just that! But to finish in a good note I'll tell you another story I have seen on TV. Some weeks ago a female horse (don't know the English word) with it's young one got hit by a train. Only the female did... Of course the female died, but what impressed me is what happened after. The police came to take the young horse away, but another horse which was just passing by somehow felt it's loss and started to protect and pet the young horse. There were lots of people around, some even started crying when they say what happened. It's as if they where humans trying to help each other...

Yesterday I have seen something on the news that makes me loose my faith in humans. Four kids torture with extreme brutality a stray cat until it finally dies. In my country there is no animal police like in the US, no law to put them in jail, they can only receive a 900$ fine. But this kind of gestures are beyond words, they can only show the dark side we all have within us, a dark side which family, society, culture and law try to keep buried. Only William Golding in Lord of the Flies has shown who much evil we carry within our soul. No punishment seems big enough to equal what they did. What hurts me most is not the fact that the cat died, but the fact that they could stand to do such a thing. I have no doubt that this so called humans will grow to be killers since they don't have any respect for life even that of an animal and no conscience to stop them. More terrible then what they did is the detached way they admit what they did. The boy in the video does not seem to have any remorse whatsoever. He does not regret, he is not ashamed of what he did. I can only hope that someone in my country will eventually take notice and protect those who cannot protect themselves, this poor animals. Some may say it is barbaric, but we should apply the principle "an eye for an eye". I will post a link to the video, but I do worn you this are extremely painful images... http://www.protv.ro/filme/tinerii-care-au-ile=30468%2330468

Ok. Thank you everybody! I'll come back as soon as I will start fixing the problems!

Thank you for your help... I'll start figuring that out... By the way, can you tell me how I can stop the errors from appearing... as a temporal fix until I can check out every error?

Hello! I have a desktop and a laptop. I am a programmer and I have different projects I'm working on both on laptop and on desktop. Of course those project files must always be synchronized. I should mention I have a wireless network.I have tried the Briefcase from Windows XP, but it seems it can't do it or I'm doing something wrong. I have a folder with the name of my project (for example "Xisto") and some subfolders with the different versions of my project (for example "0.1.1", "0.1.2"). This subfolders also have some subfolders and files in them. What I need is for the main foder (Xisto) and all it's contents to be updated (not only if the files are changed, but also if new files are created).So what I did:1. Create a briefcase on my laptop and drag the folder Xisto from my desktop to the briefcase on the laptop2. It does the copying...2. Open the briefcase and try to synchronize...But instead of telling me that the folder/files are up-to-date or not it tells me that they are single (my windows is in my language so I don't know if this is the translation... in other words it tells me that it can't find the original files to make the comparison). What do I do wrong?If the problem is not from me, but from the way the briefcase is designed can you please tell me some other software with the same functions. Of course it would be better if I could use the briefcase!Thanks,

You can check the website from my signature for any errors. I'm sure you're both right so I guess it's hard now to find what function has changed. I wonder why don't they do PHP backwards compatible.I don't what to upgrade it or anything, I simply what it to work. I have begun programming on a new project... but it will take a while and meanwhile I need it to work!PS: This error emerged like 6-9 months ago without any changes whatsoever (no code changes, no password changes)

I don't think PHP is in any real danger, at least in the near future... but other programming languages designed for applications should be. Its just my personal opinion, but I think the future is java's. You'll ask why! Because more and more devices interact/connect/share information/etc. with each other so Java with its virtual machine means it can run on everything making that device much easier to connect with another one that also runs Java. Yeah Java is bad speed-wise, but with all the processing power available that shouldn't be a major issue!

That is a fantastic idea! But just a few pictures and videos is a bit to little... What would make it even greater is if they would send the rover down where Apollo landed to prove once and for all if we have really been on the moon. That way a lot more people would be interested in this exploration.But why doesn't Google just hire the Russians to do it... They are sending tourists so I'm sure that for the right amount of money they would also send a rover to the moon. Guess Google hopes it will give ordinary people a shot of making history. (by ordinary I mean non-governmental organizations which nevertheless have countless millions of dollars to invest)

Hello! Some time ago (over 2 years) I used a script to make a website... In only customized a little the script and some more the HTML template. Over an year ago I noticed that something happened to the previously working website... tons and tons of PHP errors... Now keep in mind I haven't done any changes t the website for a long long time (had exams decisive for my life) and now I want to get back.Since I don't know much PHP I want to get the experts opinion on why this errors appeared out of nowhere!Thank you!

I have been an "unofficial" beta tester for over an year before Vista got released. It looked promising since I thought that in the next release they would really optimize it. But that release did not come. When I had my first contact with the final version of Vista I installed it on my desktop ( AMD Athlon 64 3000+, 1GB DDRAM, GeForce 6600) and I was extremely disappointed. I guess you can check that impression in the posts from that months... So even on my computer, which to be honest isn't that old, Vista worked terrible. It required some 550-600Mb of memory on startup (not as much as some predicted, but a lot more then the 30Mb Windows 98 required at startup). After later experience I came to the conclusion that memory isn't the biggest problem of Vista, but the CPU. My AMD desktop CPU, which is clocked at 1800Mhz seems to be overloaded most of the time, even when Vista is as clean as when I installed it (no programs whatsoever installed). If fitted with an antivirus Vista becomes a true nightmare. Microsoft was so proud of their Aero UI which I have to admit is great, but has, what looks to me, a major issue... it doesn't use the video card as much as should. Video cards where in fact the only things that weren't used when using Windows until Vista came. It advertised a graphic accelerated desktop, but I don't think that is the case. My video card can still do miracles in games (even though it is far from the high-end part of the market), but for Vista, which, besides Flip3D, doesn't have any real 3D parts, it seems it is not enough. So basically it loads the CPU... How did I came with that theory? In May I bought a laptop (a dream come true... I still am as excited as the day I bought it) which has an AMD Turion X2 TL-56 (dual core with each core clocked at the standard 1800mHz) , 2GB memory and an GeForce Go 7400. On the laptop Vista looks a lot different... and more importantly feels a lot faster. It works like a charm, it truly does... Since the laptop video card is somewhat slower then my desktop video card and memory isn't used to its full potential (around 30% on the laptop) the problem of Vista turns to be, as I have said, the CPU. Or the fact that is loads the CPU with what the video card should do. So I advise you, if you do want to go to Vista better have a dual core CPU or you'll end up switching back to your old operating system very fast. Some beta testers reported that Vista SP1 will make Vista faster (it seems Microsoft will finally implement those optimizations I was hoping for when testing the last Release candidates) But Vista isn't my primary operating system even on the laptop.... Windows XP is, and will be for a long long time, the best compromise between good looks (better the Windows 98), speed (a lot faster then Vista, slower then Windows 98) and stability (a lot more stable in my opinion then Windows 98 and Vista). Eyecandy (at which Vista rocks) doesn't mean much for most people, specially when speaking of efficiency. Its going to be extremely hard for Microsoft to kill its own Windows XP! PS: anish2000, as odomike has said, you should really try to make your posts have some meaning.... like to explain why you think Vista "rocks"! Maybe you already know, but on Xisto you don't get points for how many posts you have, but on their content. Basically you get points for every word you post.

This happens because last year Microsoft had a real problem with further delaying Windows Vista. So in order to be able to release it in January 2007 it had to cut short on some things. By the current selling Windows Vista is another Windows Me, so a Service Pack is greatly needed. As far as I have heard the service pack is pretty good.... not only it adds the much needed functionality to Vista, but also increases it's performance greatly. Guess will have to wait and see for ourselves. Also remember that Windows XP SP3 has been announced and is in testing...

Thats funny as long as you aren't the one that has to count very single coin and bill.Weird enough... I also have an example of my own. I live in a flat and the next door neighbor is crazy. Not only that he is crazy, but he also has a lot of free time. The combination of those two drive the rest of the people (including myself) who live in the flat insane. Besides the fact that he does not pay on time, even though he has money (he just doesn't want to... he now has 2 year old 1200$ debt to the flat committee) he does all kinds of stupid things. He pays the flat bills thru the mail (even though he could just take the elevator 6 floors up and pay the president of the flat committee directly) and more recently to pay his monthly flat bill only in coins... a bag full of coins...So you see, funny as it may seem this kind of gestures can turn into a big headache.

There is no such thing as free energy... and it's pretty simple to demonstrate. There is no pure energy in nature... everything mankind has are only exchanges of energy... solar power ---> electricity; wind power ---> electricity; coal ---> heat ---> electricity. So there isn't any energy just waiting for us to get. We must take some sort of energy and transform it into a different kind of energy. But everyone knows that there is no such thing as a machine with 100% efficiency. It is extremely hard to even get near 100%. What does that mean? That some part of energy is lost during the transformation. Taking your example: Rotating motion + dynamo = electricity First of all you consume energy by the rotation motion (energy in other form... so your example is also a transformation). Second the dynamo surly has a low efficiency rate. That means you have a quantity of energy in the rotation motion, but you get less energy (electricity). How is that energy lost? By internal friction. So why no free energy? Because even a near 100% efficiency machine you put in more and get less. Not to mention the use of the machine, the fact that someday it will have to be replaced. One last thing ... in physics there is the principle of entropy... a little quote from the Entropy article on Wikipedia: So you see... Even energy (in its different forms) is not infinite (if of course the universe is finite). So energy MUST be lost in some form or another. Free energy cannot be created, but extremely cheap energy can... But well there is no will to adopt on a large scale alternative fules when you have around 40 years of fossil fuel.

That is one interesting and funny movie, i watched it twice... It is true that many humans forget we are still only a bunch of apes. An evolved bunch, but still only a bunch of apes. Evolution hasn't given us only good things, but also some dark parts. While we are intelligent enough to go into space and send probes to distant planets, we aren't smart enough to not use nuclear power as a weapon, we aren't smart enough to stop using fossil fuels while our planet is still habitable. Our conscienceness, the only thing that truly separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom is also our weakness. Because conscienceness has given birth to our dark side - to hatred. The evolved monkey doesn't (rarely) care(s) about the welfare of it's fellow evolved monkey, what is really important for the evolved monkey is the green stuff that makes its world go round, money. As a evolved monkey we have an open door to unraveling the mysteries of the universe, but first we must fight the demons from within us, we demons that conscienceness has waken up! But we must remember what John Stuart Mill (an evolved monkey) once said: "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question. The other party to the comparison knows both sides." And by the way... here is another interesting (although not as funny as the first one): http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

A better Sims is in development, by the creator of Sims Will Wright... It will be called Spore (here is a Wikipedia link and here is the official website of the game). Why is Spore the next Sims??? Because it takes life simulation in the next level. Users will be a ble to control the evolution of a species from the primordial soup to the conquering of the universe. Every species will evolve differently according to the creators desires. It will be a a teleological evolution game also known as a God game something like Black & White. The player will guide the evolution of a species in a few steps, having DNA points as currency: 1. Cellular phase 2. Creature phase 3. Tribal phase 4. Civilization phase ... and finally ... 4. Space phase If the idea of the game isn't enough the way it will be created will surely amaze you. Spore will make use of procedural generation for many of it's components like species, terrain, etc. This will make the game extremely small compared to the size it would have being stored the classic way. The small size will make possible the exchange of species, planets, etc. over the Internet. Picture an infinite universe where every user has a corner of it, where you can battle you neighbor for local dominance. It will be the next Sims and the next Second Life. I can only hope it will be as good as it looks right now. It promises to be the best game off all times. One last thing... it will be released in 2008 (unofficially announced in the 0Q2 of 2008).

Well my first gaming console was nothing fancy... but I can say I have lived the glorious days of the birth of the modern consoles :XD: . It was a Sega Mega Drive II (did some heavy research on Google to find it's name since I only remember it by it's looks). Some 10-12 years after, looking at it's specifications (7.16MHz main CPU, 64 KB Main ROM, 64 KB Video RAM...) it looks awful. But those thousands hours of Super Mario Brothers and Pac-Man tell a different story... Only looking at the screenshots of Super Mario Brothers it makes me cry... I guess the PlayStation 2 generation can never appreciate moments like that. Moments when games weren't played because they had great graphics powered by DirectX9 or 10 or because of the great 5.1 sounds, but simply because of the gameplay... That is lost forever... I also had another console just like that but I can't remember it's name and I can't find it's picture, but I remember playing Pong (the original or some later version) on it. Those 2 consoles were my last... when I bought my first PC I abandoned the game consoles. Here is a photo... brings back so many great memories: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SegaMegadrive2.jpg