I feel the same way. Any data that can be put in a file can be viewed as a number. No one should be able to own a number, whether small or large.

I'm 99.6% sure you got it right, considering this is slashdot and all, but you're sure your monitor is 22" wide, aren't you?

(Just checking in case you're thinking you have a 22" monitor, so it must be 22" wide. Unlikely all things considered, but I still have to ask.) :)

It's not a game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspora

Yeah, but what company advertises that? "Hey, Americans, you should buy our product, which can do some of the same things that our European version can!"

I used to get $77k, which my boss increased from $64k just a couple of months before, because he was very pleased with my work (Excel VBA). Our competitor approached me and offered me $128k. I didn't know whether to tell my boss, but I did, because when in doubt I always pick honesty, and he said: "So what did you tell them?", so I said I told them I'd think about it. He said: "I would too, that's a lot of money!" He asked me what it would take for me to stay and I said: "I don't know, at least $100k?" He said I could have the $100k if I agreed to adding to my contract that we both have three months more notice (I had one before, they had four) and I agreed. That way he knew that if I decided to leave, they still had me for four months while they found a replacement and I trained him. If they decide to fire me, I get full pay for seven months. It's been a bit more than year now and I'm still with the company and very happy with how everything turned out. :)

2. What if it was a single atom? If you "push" an atom, does the other side move immediately or is there a small delay? I'm guessing there's a small delay, or we'd be able to transmit data faster than the speed at light, albeit only at relatively small distances, such as the width of an atom.

You should watch this if you haven't already, which basically says you're right. :)

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_asks_are_we_in_control_of_our_own_decisions.html

I'm pretty sure he was joking. :)

Well, doing it in one year is kind of optimistic. Why did you assume that was the time periode he meant?

It seems no technology ever dies completely, but I think most people would agree the telegraph is pretty much as dead as they come, even if the Internet can be considered a modern form of telegraphy. :)

Two things:

1. Yes, it's just a matter of time before everyone will get the best weapon in the game on the same day. However, it's extremely unlikely that will happen in the next billions of years.
2. Even if it happens, it won't matter much to Blizzard as they have never promised they will buy your items for a certain prices. You will just put your awesome sword in the auction house and no one will buy it and Blizzard will add a better sword that is unlikely to drop for everyone else at the same time in the next billions of years.

Thank you.

Then I still think they should be tested and rated individually, along with the original. "Yesterday you gave the original a 96.5% score. Today you rated this lossy codec as 99.2%."

Also, is it really fair to test two codecs by listening to one and then immediately listening to the other? Even if you can tell a difference, that doesn't mean that you're get a better listening experience. I think these tests should be done by a person listening to one codec and rating it on a scale. Then the person should take a break, wait a few hours, listen to another codec and rate that on the same scale. Then we'll see if the listening experience has really gotten better or worse, not whether the person can just tell the two codecs apart while listening to one and then immediately the other, which you would never do when just listening to music.

Thank you for at least not making the same old Ovaltine joke.

Now let's say I started out with had nothing. I then worked really, really hard for many years and now I have a lot and no longer have to work. Now the government says I have to give half my fortune to, say, some guy who doesn't like working. Am I not allowed to be unhappy about that without wanting to switch places with him?