[mutabor]

Quote:

My point is that the human time scale is ridiculously short compared to the geologic time scale. Mass extinction events have happened many times before mammals ever appeared, and will certainly happen again, regardless of anything man does or does not do. Whether we kill our species or not, the universe doesn't care and will continue with whatever is left - with or without what we consider as "life".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_event

 
The Universe doesn't care, I agree.
 
 
 

Apple requests additional $707 million in damages, permanent US sales ban on 29 Samsung devices

 
That is really steep and makes me actually angry. There are many gadgets that copy Apple's style ( not only smartphones but also Macbook Air notebook) but Apple targets particularly Samsung which is the most active competitor.

 

[Tilpo]

Even assuming that life is just a happy accident on one small planet on the edge of things, isn't it a good idea to try to keep the world functional for humans, even if means nothing in the larger scheme of things?

I agree.

I find it completely nonsensical to philosophize about things that do not actually concern our human race. Things like the infinitely big, the very long ago, or the very far in the future. While I admit it's interesting, I'm always annoyed by people who say things like "realize how insignificant you are!". Personally I think the whole question of being significant or not in the grand scheme of things is irrelevant. We are what we are, and we do what we do.

 

[compoopers]

Speaking of "we are what we are," I find it really weird to think about who I am. No, I'm not having an existential crisis, but it is really interesting to reflect on things I've done in the past and see how different I am now. Even over the course of some few weeks, my mindset toward the world and the ways I act change, sometimes dramatically. Being a young person in a developmental stage of my life, maybe this is normal, but it is really weird.

 

[Coq de Combat]

Quote:

Speaking of "we are what we are," I find it really weird to think about who I am. No, I'm not having an existential crisis, but it is really interesting to reflect on things I've done in the past and see how different I am now. Even over the course of some few weeks, my mindset toward the world and the ways I act change, sometimes dramatically. Being a young person in a developmental stage of my life, maybe this is normal, but it is really weird.

I don't think it has to do with being young. I think we all develop more or less throughout our whole lives. I can relate to what you said about not being the "same person" despite being 30+ myself. As we learn new things about the world, as we're presented with situations where we need to make up our own opinions, as we meet new people and hear other perspectives to things in life - small or big - I think we start changing and adapting to the world as we know it for the moment.

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

That is really steep and makes me actually angry. There are many gadgets that copy Apple's style ( not only smartphones but also Macbook Air notebook) but Apple targets particularly Samsung which is the most active competitor.

I'm not rabidly anti-Apple....I still own an iPod and would not be averse to owning another at some point. But this patent warfare is getting out of hand. 
Doesn't this clip say it all? 

 

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

Even assuming that life is just a happy accident on one small planet on the edge of things, isn't it a good idea to try to keep the world functional for humans, even if means nothing in the larger scheme of things?

 
Exactly. The true test of a philosophy or outlook is whether or not it's livable.

 

[mutabor]

Quote:

 
Exactly. The true test of a philosophy or outlook is whether or not it's livable.

 
Or shouldn't be livable in the first place ( Schopenhauer and Co.). LOL.
 
"The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, on the other hand, was as famously misanthropic as his reputation. He wrote that "human existence must be a kind of error." It should be added, however, that misanthropy does not necessarily equate with an inhumane attitude towards humanity. Schopenhauer concluded, in fact, that ethical treatment of others was the best attitude, for we are all fellow sufferers and all part of the same will-to-live; he also discussed suicide with a sympathetic understanding which was rare in his own time, when it was largely a taboo subject."

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

My point is that the human time scale is ridiculously short compared to the geologic time scale. Mass extinction events have happened many times before mammals ever appeared, and will certainly happen again, regardless of anything man does or does not do. Whether we kill our species or not, the universe doesn't care and will continue with whatever is left - with or without what we consider as "life".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_event

 

 
 
I don't know about you, but I'd personally prefer for my descendants not to live in a toxic dump.
 
Going by your logic, why should we mourn the death o a family member? After all, they're just bags of meat.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

 

 
 
I don't know about you, but I'd personally prefer for my descendants not to live in a toxic dump.
 
Going by your logic, why should we mourn the death o a family member? After all, they're just bags of meat.

It's not as easy to accomplish as you'd think. With the Corporate-Machine it's damn near impossible. They are all about money and could give a rats-@$# about this world. We'd all have to overcome this huge obstacle in order to succeed. With them paying off our Politicians/Government, and their control of the market in general, good luck with that.

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

That's why I always take a spare battery along with me.
I wonder why so few people do this.

 
Do many phones even have removable batteries these days?  I'd probably make (or possibly buy, if there's a good sale) one of those rechargeable booster packs.
 
Quote:

Fondness for Sony...
 
Waning even more....

 
Yay!  Comrades!
 
I was beginning to think I was the only one who cared about this stuff anymore...
 
Quote:

My Samsung Android phone has a low power mode that will kick-in at whatever % of battery life you wish, and you can configure it to disable various features. Of course, it also *beeps* when it enters that mode too...
As far as an extra battery - keeping 2 batteries charged is a pain in the butt, and the phone takes too long to power-up. And, of course, it also does a stupidly loud power-on sound...

 
Root and superuser access are calling...
 
"Back in the day" I had to hex edit my RAZR because the maximum ring volume was too soft, you couldn't set it to simultaneously vibrate and ring, and because there was no other way to change that $DEITY forsaken Cingular logo (Remember them?  From before ATT had merged and bought out it's way back to another near monopoly that needs to be broken up again.) that shows up on the front screen when you open the phone.

 

[Tilpo]

Do many phones even have removable batteries these days?  I'd probably make (or possibly buy, if there's a good sale) one of those rechargeable booster packs.

I don't know how many phones do. However, I do know that most, if not all, Samsung Galaxy models have it.

And I'm glad it does, since the charging circuit of my phone is kaput. As a result, I have to charge my batteries externally, so it having removable batteries is an infinitesimally huge plus.

 

[jgray91]

Do many phones even have removable batteries these days?  I'd probably make (or possibly buy, if there's a good sale) one of those rechargeable booster packs.

I don't know how many phones do. However, I do know that most, if not all, Samsung Galaxy models have it.

And I'm glad it does, since the charging circuit of my phone is kaput. As a result, I have to charge my batteries externally, so it having removable batteries is an infinitesimally huge plus.

But looking at the trend that slim = good, more and more models of phones are going unibody and lack removable batteries. I don't know why that is, but if i were to make an educated guess, the space saved from the latches needed for a removable back cover is plenty enough to warrant its absence in favor of a slimmer body.

I don't know about you, but I am still perfectly capable of pocketing my 808. Sure there's a bit of a bulge, but then I don't wear slim hipster jeans or the like. Besides, IMO too thin of a phone makes it easier to drop it.

 

[compoopers]

I don't think it has to do with being young. I think we all develop more or less throughout our whole lives. I can relate to what you said about not being the "same person" despite being 30+ myself. As we learn new things about the world, as we're presented with situations where we need to make up our own opinions, as we meet new people and hear other perspectives to things in life - small or big - I think we start changing and adapting to the world as we know it for the moment.

Yes, I like the way you put it. It's crazy to think that we're all so pliable though. Our parents, our peers, and history all teach us that we have an identity, a certain "best" that we are striving for, but when I look at myself I see that even within the past year I am a totally different person. The way I think, the way I act, the way I react... it's all different from another version of myself from the past. Yet I'm still the same person!

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

 
Or shouldn't be livable in the first place ( Schopenhauer and Co.). LOL.
 
"The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, on the other hand, was as famously misanthropic as his reputation. He wrote that "human existence must be a kind of error." It should be added, however, that misanthropy does not necessarily equate with an inhumane attitude towards humanity. Schopenhauer concluded, in fact, that ethical treatment of others was the best attitude, for we are all fellow sufferers and all part of the same will-to-live; he also discussed suicide with a sympathetic understanding which was rare in his own time, when it was largely a taboo subject."

 
By being livable, I mean a philosophy that can actually be "lived" in ones life and that leads to a better quality of life. That except is not necessarily in conflict with that notion. In fact I'd say it supports that notion in advocating ethical treatment.
 
That one can even have a sympathetic understanding of another human being, that one can even recognize a "fellow sufferer," is itself quite a profound step that some post-structuralists would find downright religious (har har).

 

[mutabor]

Quote:

Yes, I like the way you put it. It's crazy to think that we're all so pliable though. Our parents, our peers, and history all teach us that we have an identity, a certain "best" that we are striving for, but when I look at myself I see that even within the past year I am a totally different person. The way I think, the way I act, the way I react... it's all different from another version of myself from the past. Yet I'm still the same person!

 
At your age ( at 18) we had to go to the army ( for 1.5 years). And it was a mind blowing experience. One of my peers committed suicide in 2 weeks and a group of 7 guys from my town ran away in the dark in the cold winter to the train station. That was a typical situation in the army those days ( nowadays it is a bit better I guess) that soldiers committed suicide or were killed or ran away.