martes, 8 de diciembre de 2009

Corsarios en la red

Fuente:

http://www.libertaddigital.com/opinion/ignacio-moncada/corsarios-en-la-red-52226/

Información:

Corsarios en la red

Ignacio Moncada

&quote&quoteSucede como en el siglo XVI: que por haber piratas, los gobiernos han creado corsarios. Ya se sabe, grupos protegidos por una patente de corso otorgada por los Estados, que les permite esquilmar galeones siempre y cuando presten servicio al Gobierno.

Recuerdo un artículo de Carlos Rodríguez Braun, columnista de esta casa, que se titulaba El insólito caso de los sombreros. Es uno de esos textos que quedan grabados en la memoria esperando su oportunidad para salir a la luz en el momento adecuado, y así poder dar la impresión de que tengo ideas creativas. Es falso, pues la mayoría son prestadas. Aún así creo que he encontrado un buen escenario para sacarlo a flote.

El artículo cuenta que, en los años 50, de la noche a la mañana la gente dejó de llevar sombrero. Las empresas que los fabricaban empleaban a millones de personas, y la desaparición de las ventas podía haber llevado a la miseria a todos esos empleados y empresarios. El ser humano tiende a ser conservador y se resiste a cambiar lo que lleva haciendo toda su vida. Sin embargo, en el caso de los sombreros se tomó la vía rápida. Para nuestra sorpresa, el Gobierno no subió los impuestos para darles subvenciones y así sostenerles de forma artificial. Aunque el proceso fuera doloroso, el sector se reconvirtió y así se evitó la miseria. Lo que hicieron fue comenzar a comercializar pantalones vaqueros.

Más recientemente, en la industria informática, la comercialización del CD fue un gran éxito. Sustituyó incómodas cintas, discos de vinilo y disquetes para ordenador. Para el mundo de la música fue una revolución, y gracias a eso las compañías discográficas han ganado mucho dinero. Ahora, como sucede con casi todo, este producto está siendo sustituido por nuevas tecnologías. Los discos de música sólo comienzan a tener la demanda de los nostálgicos, como sucede con los vinilos o los sombreros. El grueso de la población mundial pronto no querrá ni ver este tipo de formatos. ¿Significa esto que la música vaya a desaparecer, como dice el lobby de la ceja? En absoluto.

Algunas empresas ya han comenzado la reconversión del sector. Apple ha registrado unos beneficios récord en el peor año de la peor crisis económica desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Lo ha hecho vendiendo dispositivos que permiten llevar en el bolsillo tantos álbumes de música como se pueda imaginar. El portal iTunes ha superado a Wal-Mart como primer vendedor de música del mundo, llegando a principios de 2009 a más de 4.000 millones de canciones vendidas, a euro la canción. El descenso de los costes, además, permite que el porcentaje de ingresos que se destina a derechos de autor sea mucho mayor que nunca.

Es normal que los productores musicales presionen a Zapatero para que sostenga su negocio con dinero público. Lo reprobable es que el presidente les haga caso. El Gobierno ha incluido nuevas medidas para evitar la reconversión del sector en su Ley de Economía Sostenible, que es un programa económico que se basa en subvencionar lo que por sí solo es insostenible. El problema es que Rodríguez Zapatero donde hay procesos económicos naturales, sólo ve caladeros de votos. A eso se une que, como político profesional, considera internet una selva que escapa de su control, y no lo puede permitir. Por ello ha sacado la tijera de la libertad, y ha tratado de atribuirse poder para cortar conexiones por decisión administrativa. Hoy es por devolverle al sindicato de la ceja los favores prestados. Mañana tendrá otra excusa.

Al final sucede como en el siglo XVI: que por haber piratas, los gobiernos han acabado creando corsarios. Ya se sabe, grupos protegidos por una patente de corso otorgada por los Estados, que les permite esquilmar galeones siempre y cuando presten servicio al Gobierno. Es cierto que hay piratas, que son los que hacen negocio a partir de creaciones ajenas, ya sean películas, canciones, libros o programas informáticos. Por supuesto, no los que descargan música para uso privado, pues este servicio lo ofrecen, incluso, las páginas web de los artistas o el propio iTunes. Escuchar las canciones de forma libre incrementa ventas de entradas para conciertos y extiende la popularidad de los artistas a lo largo del planeta.

Los corsarios de hoy, como antaño, son los que nos quitan el dinero para su provecho bajo el amparo del Gobierno, alegando que se les acaba su antiguo negocio. La patente de corso toma forma de canon digital, de subvenciones con dinero público o de este intento de control político de la red. La mala noticia para Zapatero es que la gente está demostrando que peleará por ese océano de libertad que es internet, por muchos corsarios que conspiren por hacerse con el botín. Es decir, con nuestro dinero.

Ignacio Moncada es ingeniero industrial por ICAI y trabaja en la gestión de proyectos energéticos internacionales.

lunes, 7 de diciembre de 2009

Política - Benedetti

lunes, 07 de diciembre de 2009

Frase del día
Cuando creíamos que teníamos todas las respuestas, de pronto, cambiaron todas las preguntas.
Mario Benedetti
enviar frase a un amig@Política
Servicio cortesía de Proverbia.net

domingo, 6 de diciembre de 2009

Power Armor - Fallout Wiki

Fuente:

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Power_Armor

Información:

Power Armor

From The Vault

United States soldier in T-51b Power Armor
Orginal Power Armor concept art

The Powered Infantry Armor is the peak of armored infantry technology, initially developed in the West Tek Research Facility laboratories. Now, only the most technologically advanced factions with ties to pre-War military or government, such as the Brotherhood of Steel or the Enclave, have access to those, and only the latter possesses the technology required to manufacture new Power Armor models, such as the Advanced Power Armor and Advanced Power Armor Mk II.


The first version of Power Armor successfully deployed in combat was the T-45d model, which originally ran on Small Energy Cells, burning through them at an alarming rate. In response, later versions were manufactured with built-in MicroFusion Packs.

The most advanced pre-war model, T-51b Power Armor is fitted with a back-mounted TX-28 MicroFusion Pack which generates 60,000 Watts to power the HiFlo hydraulic systems built into the frame of the suit. Made of the poly-laminate composite, the T-51b shell is lightweight and capable of absorbing over 2500 Joules of kinetic impact. The 10 micron silver ablative coating can reflect laser and radiation emissions without damage to the composite subsurface.

T-51b Power Armor and later models also include a complete waste recycling system. Basically, you can urinate in the armor and it recycles everything.

Contents

[show]

edit History

  • August 2065: The need for increased mobility among the units of the US Army Mechanized Cavalry leads the American government's defense contractors to focus their research on the development of a man-based tank - the ultimate result is Powered Infantry Armor.
  • 2065 - 2067: Research and development into Power Armor intensifies among the different firms involved in the project and several prototypes are developed, many of which prove to be unworkable once they are deployed in the field. These prototypes pave the way for several major future advances in materials science, robotics, and nuclear fusion technology in the decade before the outbreak of the Great War.
  • Summer 2066: The first crude nuclear microfusion cell is unveiled, one of the civilian technological spin-offs of the Power Armor project. The new technology is soon incorporated into a wide variety of consumer goods, including robots and automobiles. It begins to alleviate the terrible energy shortages plaguing the United States, but was unable to fully alleviate the world's energy problems before the outbreak of the Great War in 2077 made the problem moot. Ironically, had the fusion microcell technology had more time to disseminate across the globe from the United States, it would have solved most of the world's energy problems, thus ending the need for the armed conflicts that ultimately lead to the downfall of human civilization.
  • 2067: The first suit of T-45d Power Armor is deployed for combat duty among American infantrymen fighting the Chinese occupation of Alaska. While lacking the full mobility of future versions of the armor, this early suit of Power Armor is incredibly effective against conventional Chinese tanks and infantry. Its ability to allow a single infantryman to carry heavy ordinance becomes key in various localized conflicts during the Sino-American War, and it has the power to destroy entire towns without endangering the wearer from attacks by conventional firearms or even missile launchers. The Chinese People's Liberation Army rushes to create its own versions, but the Chinese are many years behind the United States' work on the project.
  • 2074: Contrary to the United States' claim of waging a defensive war that seeks only to retake Alaska from the Chinese, entire mechanized infantry divisions outfitted with Power Armor are deployed in an American invasion of China, but they become bogged down during intense combat on the Chinese mainland, putting a further drain on American resources and supply lines in the Sino-American War.
  • June 2076: The T-51b Power Armor prototype is finally completed, resulting in the development of the suit of Power Armor that the Vault Dweller finds in Fallout. This suit represents the pinnacle of Power Armor technology before the outbreak of the Great War ends all technological progress for many decades. Many of these units are sent by the American military to the front in China, and they begin to carve a swath through the Chinese forces defending their nation, ending the stalemate that had defined the Chinese front of the war in the two years since the start of the American invasion. Chinese resources are strained to the breaking point by the new American offensive using the T-51b armor, and the supply lines from the nations China has annexed in East and Southeast Asia begin to break down.
  • January 22, 2077: Power Armor is used for the first time for domestic purposes within the United States by U.S. Army units deployed within American cities for crowd and quarantine control duties related to the growing resource shortages and outbreaks of epidemic disease. Units originally serving in China and on the Anchorage Front Line find themselves fighting fellow Americans at home as the disorders grow worse across the course of this year. Food riots increase, and many civilians are killed in fights with the military and police. A growing number of soldiers desert from the American military both in Canada and the United States. These deserters are captured when possible by military policemen and are sent to various military prisons across the United States. Some of these prisoners are later used by American military scientists in illegal human experiments at the Mariposa Military Base in California where the Forced Evolutionary Virus is first tested.
  • 2198: The Enclave's scientists develop various new technologies, including the first new viable Power Armor variations since the Great War. None of these suits are much of an improvement over the original versions of Power Armor developed before 2077, and some are actually worse.
  • 2215: Under Presidential Order, the Enclave's scientists begin to work on an upgraded version of Power Armor that exceeds the performance of the T-51b model. Many prototypes are developed and tested.
  • October 2220: Enclave scientists finally develop a reliable version of what they call Advanced Power Armor. The prototype's capabilities (and the various accidents/explosions/deaths involved in its creation) are classified by order of the Enclave's President Dick Richardson for the sake of the Enclave's morale.

edit Variations of Power Armor

[edit] Fallout games

[edit] Spin-offs

edit Appearances In-Game

Power Armors appear in every Fallout game. T-51b Power Armor and its hardened version appear in both Fallout and Fallout 2 (and was to appear in Van Buren), while the latter also introduces the Enclave's advanced variants. In Fallout 3 the T-45d Power Armor is the general Power Armor that can be found, as most members of the Brotherhood of Steel wear it. The Enclave's variant suits of Power Armor are also encountered. A rusty set of T-51b Power Armor is located in the Fort Constantine military base (but can only be obtained by doing a specific quest), and a Winterized Version of the same model can be found in the Fallout 3 Operation: Anchorage add-on. Quite inconsistently with previous games in the series, Fallout Tactics shows the T-51b model only once in the introduction of the game, and the Midwestern Brotherhood Power Armor is used instead in the game, including a technologically more advanced version, years before the Enclave's new model is developed. In Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel a very different version is used, with a modern appearance unlike any of the known models, despite supposedly being used by the same Brotherhood of Steel organization as in the previous games. The Power Armor from the canceled Fallout d20 was a mixture of the T-51b model and the Fallout Tactics PA model.

edit Notes

  • In Fallout 3, you must receive training at the Citadel from Paladin Gunny or complete the Operation Anchorage DLC mission before you can equip power armor. Whilst being given the training, the Paladin tells the player to "relax their muscles" and "let the suit do the work".
  • A number of companions, as well as NPCs who may follow the Lone Wanderer, can equip Power Armor without receiving training.
  • It has been observed that Raiders can equip Power Armor that they might find.
  • When selling unwanted Power Armor to Wastelander scavengers and traders, they sometimes equip the armor after they've purchased it from you.

edit Sources

Holodisks:

edit Gallery

[edit] Fallout

[edit] Fallout 2

[edit] Fallout 3

[edit] Van Buren

[edit] Fallout Tactics

[edit] Fallout d20

[show]
Power Armor in the Fallout games