I don't even know if I broke the law. But I want to see a company coming after me for "breaking the law" -- I actually wasted the whole afternoon doing this. I had things to do -- important ones. And I spent it actually opening the package of the item I had purchased.
What I had to do was silly. I am definitely not alone. We, as consumers, cannot be slaves of corporations who design hideous mechanisms that only work half the time.
What I had to do was silly. I am definitely not alone. We, as consumers, cannot be slaves of corporations who design hideous mechanisms that only work half the time.
http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/a...my_horrific_experience_wwwkalaharicom
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Because much food production relies on pumping groundwater faster than it recharges, the world has blown a big food bubble. The Green Revolution turned India -- where millions once died in famines -- into a food exporter. But now in parts of India, water tables are dropping more than half an inch a day. Many wells are depleted, and irrigated farmland has shrunk.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-safina/water-shortage_b_1526169.html
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The effects of student computers on learning remain largely unexplored.
The effects depend on whether the teacher knows how to use computers and tablets in the classroom.
Some teachers are questioning what ICT can add to their teaching, since they already have effective methods in place. But that's a view that's based on the questionable notion that ICT is an instrument that can be used to improve traditional teaching, when rather the whole issue concerns the fundamental question of what it means to be knowledgeable and skilled in modern society, 'ICT should be seen as a tool that is an integral part of subject matter knowledge – for example, knowledge in mathematics is not only knowledge of abstract mathematical concepts but also how to solve problems using mathematics software for modeling, simulation and visualization. ICT is more and more becoming a natural part of teaching and learning, like paper and pencils,'
The effects depend on whether the teacher knows how to use computers and tablets in the classroom.
Some teachers are questioning what ICT can add to their teaching, since they already have effective methods in place. But that's a view that's based on the questionable notion that ICT is an instrument that can be used to improve traditional teaching, when rather the whole issue concerns the fundamental question of what it means to be knowledgeable and skilled in modern society, 'ICT should be seen as a tool that is an integral part of subject matter knowledge – for example, knowledge in mathematics is not only knowledge of abstract mathematical concepts but also how to solve problems using mathematics software for modeling, simulation and visualization. ICT is more and more becoming a natural part of teaching and learning, like paper and pencils,'
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uog-tti051512.php
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Un iscritto che diritto ha?
Il diritto più bello è la partecipazione al LiquidFeedback, il software al centro della proposta pirata, uno strumento di partecipazione ideato da scienziati politici vicini al partito che non fa altro che simulare un’assemblea permanente. Si discutono idee e proposte, dalle iniziative ai volantini. Ogni discussione è votabile ed emendabile in tempo reale: vince chi riceve più consensi. Questo vale anche per nominare delegati, incarichi ed esperti sui singoli tempi.
Non votate su Internet?
No: riteniamo insormontabile il problema di rendere davvero sicuro un voto online.
Il diritto più bello è la partecipazione al LiquidFeedback, il software al centro della proposta pirata, uno strumento di partecipazione ideato da scienziati politici vicini al partito che non fa altro che simulare un’assemblea permanente. Si discutono idee e proposte, dalle iniziative ai volantini. Ogni discussione è votabile ed emendabile in tempo reale: vince chi riceve più consensi. Questo vale anche per nominare delegati, incarichi ed esperti sui singoli tempi.
Non votate su Internet?
No: riteniamo insormontabile il problema di rendere davvero sicuro un voto online.
http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2012/...-siamo-vero-movimento-popolare/230759
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we need to radically refocus on the local. When the evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson launched the Binghamton Neighborhood Project, he broke down that city's many paralyzing problems into human-scale chunks of action -- turning an empty lot into a park, say, or organizing faith communities -- and then linked up the people active in each chunk. Localism gives citizens autonomy to solve problems; networked localism enables them to spread and scale those solutions.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/a...-we-need-more-citizen-citizens/256818
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Tour Janet and Richard's quarter acre for an example of what's possible in suburbia. Their front yard of edible plants also provides habitat for birds and insects.
The backyard radiates out from an herb and kitchen garden to vegetable beds and containers; 25 fruit and nut trees; and a restful Zen garden. Near a future pond is a "three sisters" spiral of corn, beans and squashes.
Check out their rainwater catchment barrels system, solar ovens, grid-tied photovoltaics with backup batteries, a low-energy house, solar-heated garden room, and a comfortable "summer palace" of natural & salvaged materials. www.richardheinberg.com »
The backyard radiates out from an herb and kitchen garden to vegetable beds and containers; 25 fruit and nut trees; and a restful Zen garden. Near a future pond is a "three sisters" spiral of corn, beans and squashes.
Check out their rainwater catchment barrels system, solar ovens, grid-tied photovoltaics with backup batteries, a low-energy house, solar-heated garden room, and a comfortable "summer palace" of natural & salvaged materials. www.richardheinberg.com »
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnUEvxJSqkg&feature=related
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As a thought experiment, what if the constitution of the U.S. was amended so that no idea (with exceptions only for government use, like currency) could be protected from copy or use beyond January 1, 2035 for more than a five-year period. After a five-year span, any patent, software license, copyright, software NDA or other intellectual property agreement would expire. (This is not an entirely new idea, but would have had significant recent ramifications if it had been enacted in the past.) Specific terms are up for debate, but in this experiment businesses must have time to try to adjust to sell services and make the services good enough to compete with other businesses offering the same basic products. Microsoft can sell a five-year-old variant of OSX, Apple can sell Windows 2030. Cars, computers and phones would, or at least could, still be made, but manufacturers would be free to use any technology more than five years old or license new technology for a five-year competitive edge. Movie, TV and book budgets would have to adjust to the potential five-year profit span, although staggered episode or chapter releases would be legal. Play 'What if' with me. What would be the downsides? What would be the upsides?"
http://ask.slashdot.org/story/12/05/1...3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot+%28Slashdot%29
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Facebook is staring down some potentially unnerving obstacles when it comes to key areas of monetization and growth: public distrust and display advertising apathy.
More than half (57 percent) of Facebook users polled said they never click on ads or other sponsored content when they use the site, according to a new AP-CNBC poll. Another 26 percent said they hardly ever engage in such activity. Only 4 percent of users say they often click on ads — results that are only slightly better than the 2-3 percent clickthrough rate some experts consider the benchmark for effective banner ads.
More than half (57 percent) of Facebook users polled said they never click on ads or other sponsored content when they use the site, according to a new AP-CNBC poll. Another 26 percent said they hardly ever engage in such activity. Only 4 percent of users say they often click on ads — results that are only slightly better than the 2-3 percent clickthrough rate some experts consider the benchmark for effective banner ads.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/47413410
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Facebook doesn't seem to be connecting very well. In the poll, 83 percent of respondents said they "hardly ever" or "never" click on the ads Facebook serves up.
The ones who did click through were enough to yield the company $4.34 per user in advertising last year. That's up from $3.07 in 2009.
Google makes more than $30 per user, per year. People also like it more. In the AP-CNBC poll, 71 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of Google, compared to 51 percent for Facebook.
"Somehow Facebook still hasn't stumbled upon a model that's proven consistently successful for marketers, or that brings in the massive revenues to match the site's massive user base," Forrester Research analyst Nate Elliott said in a blog post.
Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst at research firm eMarketer, said Facebook can be more effective when it places an ad in a social context. People are much more likely to click on an ad if a friend has already "liked" it or if it consists of a comment a friend posted on the brand website, she said.
Advertising made up 82 percent of Facebook's revenue in the latest quarter. The rest came from the purchase of Facebook "credits" for the purchase of virtual goods, like cows in "Farmville" or chips in "Zynga Poker." But like advertising, this is a business that touches only a minority of Facebook users. Last year, 15 million users, or only 2 percent of the total, bought any credits at all.
The ones who did click through were enough to yield the company $4.34 per user in advertising last year. That's up from $3.07 in 2009.
Google makes more than $30 per user, per year. People also like it more. In the AP-CNBC poll, 71 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of Google, compared to 51 percent for Facebook.
"Somehow Facebook still hasn't stumbled upon a model that's proven consistently successful for marketers, or that brings in the massive revenues to match the site's massive user base," Forrester Research analyst Nate Elliott said in a blog post.
Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst at research firm eMarketer, said Facebook can be more effective when it places an ad in a social context. People are much more likely to click on an ad if a friend has already "liked" it or if it consists of a comment a friend posted on the brand website, she said.
Advertising made up 82 percent of Facebook's revenue in the latest quarter. The rest came from the purchase of Facebook "credits" for the purchase of virtual goods, like cows in "Farmville" or chips in "Zynga Poker." But like advertising, this is a business that touches only a minority of Facebook users. Last year, 15 million users, or only 2 percent of the total, bought any credits at all.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/15/facebook-ads_n_1519272.html
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a design science for developing sustainable human habitats through seeking synergy with natures own processes and cycles
http://p2pfoundation.net/Permaculture
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