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This may be my lack of knowledge about computer engineering (despite my CS degree ;)), but how would we use any representation other than binary? Do we have transistor logic that can do base three, or any other base? Isn't it all based on logic gates, which are inherently binary?

While there are numerous very good reasons for computers to use binary, it is not impossible to build a computer that use, say, base three or any other low base for that matter. On the transistor level there is no such thing as 1 and 0, only voltages, and while an engineer designing a logic circuit will usually define a few volts to mean 1 and no voltage to mean 0, it is quite possible to define 2 * a few volts to be 2 and go ahead and design a base three circuit - take a look at this for more info on base three computing (google's cache of it since the site appears to be down).

I still believe that there are good reasons that contemporary computers use base two - a lot of things become simpler when you don't have to worry about multiple voltage levels, only wether it's "a few volts" or "about zero volts."

And once you've finished reading up on base three computers, there's always more interesting stuff to read on the net.

There was at least one that I am aware of. It was comparison of 3 DBs with respect to its application for quite a big project.
The report (made few years ago) is here:
http://dcdbappl1.cern.ch:8080/dcdb/archive/ttraczy k/db_compare/db_compare.pdf
However the machine seems to be down right now, so google html version:
http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:ijRVyqqJ_8EJ: dcdbappl1.cern.ch:8080/dcdb/archive/ttraczyk/db_co mpare/db_compare.pdf+dcdb+postgresql+mysql&hl=en&c lient=firefox-a

The co-op sounds like a mod could maybe create a 'Space Harrier 2005', a superb two player that redefined co-operative playing of video game, thought it was made by Taito, but it was Sega. I might buy this after I see the demo, I always though SS was more like 3DRealms than ID and thought the humour was cool.

The problems with New Orleans runs far-far deeper than polluting etc.

New Orleans is placed on a river delta. After the sediments in a delta are deposited they are guaranteed to subside. It's a consiquence of compaction, de-watering and the isostatic response of the lithosphere below the basin to the extra load. Unless more sediment is added continuously the delta will eventually (and quite quickly in geological and indeed historical terms) sink beneath the sea.

When New Orleans was founded a few hundred years ago it was above sea level. (after all, who would found a town on a salt marsh?) Since then it's subsided continuously until today a great deal of the city is now below sea level and a great deal lower than the river (which has since built up its base by depositing sediment).

When the corps of engineers stopped the river naturally switching its channel (which it does around once every 1000 years) and straightened the current channel they put in motion a set of events which meant that the delta lost its sediment load to further out in the Gulf of Mexico as the river is flowing at a greater rate. This has caused the coastline (and all the natural defences) to not be replenished and go below the sea.

You may like to see this google cached article from a Baton Rouge newspaper in 2002. It gives a decent overview of the situation.

As a geologist, I would be in the camp which suggests that the government take this as an opportunity to move the city to higher and more stable ground and abandon the old city to be an archaeological curiosity and tourist attraction. Rebuilding it would merely prime the charge for an even bigger loss of life when, not if, the river breaks its banks. This time only the low-level lake to the north broke through which soon equalised its level.. this wouldn't happen with the great river.

How long do you want to fight a losing battle with the planet? How high do you eventually want the levees to be before you give up? When the city's subsided to the point where it's an isolated bowl in the ocean?

I know it's not going to be abandoned, there are too many politicians who have staked their carreer on the "we will rebuild it" bravardo and a King Kanute attitude.

(Before anyone corrects me about King Kanute, I know that the popular story is wrong, the King was trying to show how impotent he was rather than believing that he could actually stop the sea.)

Google caches copyrighted material: here

It is the full book "Harry Potter and the Halblood-Prince", conveniently converted to HTML and cached by your friendly Google-jerks.

Here's the cache.

This is old news. The toaster is a PC with a touchscreen and a CD-writer which writes really old OSS software which you can find in various cities in South Africa. Hoorah!

This is old news. The toaster is a PC with a touchscreen and a CD-writer which writes really old OSS software which you can find in various cities in South Africa. Hoorah!

This is old news. The toaster is a PC with a touchscreen and a CD-writer which writes really old OSS software which you can find in various cities in South Africa. Hoorah!

Did you miss the post I was replying to, which said about the current screen shots, presumably the same ones I was looking at, "Wow. That's so beautiful, it brought a tear to my eye."? 'Cause that's what I'm responding to, not some future version of the project.

I didn't. My "this project is Alpha 3" was targeted at your "funny how it misses its own advice -- the Laws of Inteface Design".

Have you seen the mockups of their intended final design?
Actually I find their design really good - their overall Desktop solution is better than anything Windows, OS X or previous Linux had to offer. It definitely avoids clutter. Bright graphics and colors is mostly a matter of taste as long as they don't make the interface parts distracting or difficult to see.

Or maybe Frak! IT

Damnit I know this is irretrievably off topic. But I want to post the link so why the hell not.

Why reply to this comment? You mentioned Ireland and I'm Irish.

Why in this thread? Because my login is 64nDh1. Yes, I'm stuck with it now, but a 1337 version of the common name for Indian pacifist and political leader Mohandas Karamchai Gandhi.

What does this have to do with OSS in India? Nothing, but http://fsf.org.inlogo.html64ndh1hlenclientsafari/" target="_blank">Google seems to associate the only other instance of 64nDh1 usage it can find on the web on a page that I haven't contributed to.

It's a reference to the Free Software Foundation of India. I haven't checked it out, I'm not interested in whether this is piracy or OSS in the link. I just wanted to blurt out something about what I found to be an odd coincidence.

Feel free to mod this down, and resume your lives as you were.

Especially rich and powerful graffiti artists, as long as they're rich enough to buy whole countries.

And judges tend to be wary of slapping someone too hard when that person pretty much owns their boss.

Why do you think Gates and MS are so happy to give the finger so often and so liberally? Because no-one will ever dare to call them out on it - the worst that happens is sanctions against MS that then get argued down on appeal, creatively "misunderstood" or just blatantly ignored.

there's plenty of democracy and freedom in the world that is not a result of American military aggression.

And plenty of democracy and freedom in the world despite American intervention. And even more that didn't survive 'the advancement of democracy and freedom' via Military Advisor. Chile, 1973, for example? Or Nicaragua, 1984?

Did KHTML become better as a result of Apple using it? Yes of course. KHTML became a lot, lot better as a result of patches we merged from Apple folks. And you know what? We've been quiet for almost two years. No one mentioned anything because we all hoped. We still do and always will. Everytime people complained about KDE developers being lazy and not merging patches from the great Apple guys we just took it. This time I simply refused to sit back and look at another /. discussion on Safari and KHTML cooperation.

Seems people like you are what Zak is pissed off about.

Mozilla.org will probably get hammered!! Here's a google cache of the Firefox Mirror List

And while you're at it don't forget those extensions:

FoxyTunes: http:www.iosart.com/foxytunes/firefox/

AdBlock: http://adblock.mozdev.org/

Or you can just go get more at: update.mozilla.org

Happy Browsing!

Stop complaining about the way buttons look. You can style them to look just like links. Those kinds of techniques have been around since Internet Explorer 5.0 days.

Alternatively, any decent scripter can spend ten minutes whipping up a generic script to replace all <input type="submit class="show-as-link">s with actual links while leaving normal buttons for the user-agents that don't have Javascript available.

Handcrafting every single CSS for every element is such a complication.

Straw-man. It doesn't require anything of the sort.

I know, you would have worked around the problem

You mean I wouldn't have caused the problem. Abusing GET to change state on the server is the root cause of this problem.

I guess you get paid well by the minute and don't have to invest essentially free time into this like other people.

You are looking at it from the wrong perspective. By abusing GET, you are cutting a corner - putting off development in the hope you'll never have to implement it properly. Now Google has come along and shown up the people cutting corners. That they now have to put time into fixing their own broken code isn't an investment in time, it's finally completing the job a long time after it should have been done.

• 
  * bitchchecker (~java@euirc-a97f9137.dip.t-dialin.net) Quit (Ping timeout#)
  * bitchchecker (~java@euirc-61a2169c.dip.t-dialin.net) has joined #stopHipHop
  <bitchchecker> why do you kick me
  <bitchchecker> can't you discus normally
  <bitchchecker> answer!
  <Elch> we didn't kick you
  <Elch> you had a ping timeout: * bitchchecker (~java@euirc-a97f9137.dip.t-dialin.net) Quit (Ping timeout#)
  <bitchchecker> what ping man
  <bitchchecker> the timing of my pc is right
  <bitchchecker> i even have dst
  <bitchchecker> you banned me
  <bitchchecker> amit it you son of a bitch
  <HopperHunter|afk> LOL
  <HopperHunter|afk> shit you're stupid, DST^^
  <bitchchecker> shut your mouth WE HAVE DST!
  <bitchchecker> for two weaks already
  <bitchchecker> when you start your pc there is a message from windows that DST is applied.
  <Elch> You're a real computer expert
  <bitchchecker> shut up i hack you
  <Elch> ok, i'm quiet, hope you don't show us how good a hacker you are ^^
  <bitchchecker> tell me your network number man then you're dead
  <Elch> Eh, it's 129.0.0.1
  <Elch> or maybe 127.0.0.1
  <Elch> yes exactly that's it: 127.0.0.1 I'm waiting for you great attack
  <bitchchecker> in five minutes your hard drive is deleted
  <Elch> Now I'm frightened
  <bitchchecker> shut up you'll be gone
  <bitchchecker> i have a program where i enter your ip and you're dead
  <bitchchecker> say goodbye
  <Elch> to whom?
  <bitchchecker> to you man
  <bitchchecker> buy buy
  <Elch> I'm shivering thinking about such great Hack0rs like you
  * bitchchecker (~java@euirc-61a2169c.dip.t-dialin.net) Quit (Ping timeout#)

What happened is clear: That guy entered his own IP-Adress in his mighty Hack-Tool and crashed his own PC. This way, the attack on my PC was a failure. I was already starting to think that I did not have to worry, but a good hacker never calls it a day. Two minutes later he returned.

• 
  * bitchchecker (~java@euirc-b5cd558e.dip.t-dialin.net) has joined #stopHipHop
  <bitchchecker> dude be happy my pc crashed otherwise you'd be gone
  <Metanot> lol
  <Elch> bitchchecker: Then try hacking me again... I still have the same IP: 127.0.0.1
  <bitchchecker> you're so stupid man
  <bitchchecker> say buy buy
  <Metanot> ah, [Please control your cussing]

"That said, 7in singles enjoyed an 86.5 per cent increase in sales." - link below.

Hey Big Business Schill & Fatcat Fanboy - YOU ARE WRONG - perhaps that is why you say 'studies' with no links. I guess studies means pulled from your ass.
"
Some 1.75m songs were downloaded from the UK's legal online music services during Q3, enough to turn the singles market from a 12 per cent decline year on year to a nine per cent increase over the same periods, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) trade body said today.

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:_ZCaV9_FMsIJ: www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/26/bpi_uk_music_stat s_q3_04/+uk+singles+sales+p2p&hl=en&client=firefox -a

Some 7.3m physical singles were sold in the UK during Q3. Of course, many of the tracks download from iTunes, Napster, Wippit and co. aren't singles per se but individual album tracks, so the comparison isn't an entirely fair one. Indeed, the BPI said some 40,000 different tracks are being downloaded each week, a figure far in excess of the number of singles available"

Some people do not have access to other broadband services like cable. Wireless might be an option, but it is expensive, and prices for those services are not likely to come down any time soon.

an electric perfromance car called the Tzero already has regenerative brakes with enough braking force to lock the wheels so it doesn't look like getting the charge into the battery fast enough is an issue anyway.

Well if RedHat had a monopoly on Operating Systems they'd be right to do so. IIRC anti-trust laws in Europe say that you cannot use a monopoly to attempt to gain a monopoly in another area - so they can't for example use a monopoly on their OS to gain a monopoly on media players, or web browsers.

When this trial in the EU started I thought it was pointless too - people want a media player with their OS, but recently I've realised that it was the correct thing to do - I don't know about the rest of Europe or the US, but here in the UK a lot of online media stores have sprung up, and guess who's DRM they use? Microsoft's, Microsoft's , Microsoft's and Microsoft's.

And why do they use MS's DRM?

" We recommend Microsoft Windows Media Player for this, as it generally comes pre-loaded on new PCs"

"The Windows Media Player has been shipped with Windows-based PCs since 1997".

If this isn't using one monopoly to push another, I don't know what is.

Well if RedHat had a monopoly on Operating Systems they'd be right to do so. IIRC anti-trust laws in Europe say that you cannot use a monopoly to attempt to gain a monopoly in another area - so they can't for example use a monopoly on their OS to gain a monopoly on media players, or web browsers.

When this trial in the EU started I thought it was pointless too - people want a media player with their OS, but recently I've realised that it was the correct thing to do - I don't know about the rest of Europe or the US, but here in the UK a lot of online media stores have sprung up, and guess who's DRM they use? Microsoft's, Microsoft's , Microsoft's and Microsoft's.

And why do they use MS's DRM?

" We recommend Microsoft Windows Media Player for this, as it generally comes pre-loaded on new PCs"

"The Windows Media Player has been shipped with Windows-based PCs since 1997".

If this isn't using one monopoly to push another, I don't know what is.

The best part is: we can now sue Google as well.

Why? Because this google cache page shows the same "ALERT" without performing a system scan!

Paul Graham has an interesting essay on "What the Bubble Got Right". It's worth remembering that some of the companies that lost 90% of their value are still worth billions today - e.g. Yahoo.

Looks like the server's smoking already - you can at least get the text from Google's cache.

Google cache

Link to cached printable version: FireGL V5000

like this? :) http://64.233.183.104/search?hl=nl&q=cache%3Ahttp% 3A%2F%2Fwww.rabidhardware.net%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D4 4&btnG=Zoeken&lr=

If you're looking for hardware this claims to be game compatible and there's an article here which touches on disabled gaming.
If software, really you're probably going to be looking at non twitch turn based stuff. As I don't know which genres you're into or what sort of PC you have, I can't really recommend anything.

Cripes, people, how hard is it to type after?

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:zsalMvFLX6QJ: www.winamp.com/plugins/details.php%3Fid%3D86033+wi namp+output+stacker+plugin&hl=en&client=firefox-a
http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=3 5627
http://forums.winamp.com/attachment.php?postid=159 3266

Or even better, <a href=" before and ">A description of your link</a> after.

this is the PULLED page
where it can be found NOW
this contains the plugin

Cripes, people, how hard is it to type after?

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:zsalMvFLX6QJ: www.winamp.com/plugins/details.php%3Fid%3D86033+wi namp+output+stacker+plugin&hl=en&client=firefox-a
http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=3 5627
http://forums.winamp.com/attachment.php?postid=159 3266

Or even better, <a href=" before and ">A description of your link</a> after.

this is the PULLED page
where it can be found NOW
this contains the plugin

This is the google cache linked with slashcode: http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:GshwWambHvEJ: www.corante.com/getreal/archives/2005/02/11/eight_ years_of_email_stats_pass_1.php

It still tries to access the original site, so it rather slow but you can read the article.

ok, i've taken it down off the damn site, now where that Clear Google Cache button?!

An OS should be like a screw driver. It does its job and doesn't need to be redesigned every week.

Linux may not be a screw driver itself but we surely need one to use screw patents generously donated by IBM.

Will Apple follow IBM and Sun? Most of their patents are hardware, but they do have some software patents.

Hardware? So what? That didn't stop IBM, did it? I mean, seriously, how more "hardware" can you get than donating a patent for Tamper proof set screw, "A device for preventing unauthorized access to a rotating shaft," for use by open source software? Wait a second, I've just read the list of those 500 IBM's patents, and there is also one for Methods and apparatus for exploiting virtual buffers! Don't use it! It's a trap!!!

here

Googles cached page
You are welcome.

I don't know you personally, of course, but I suspect that a lot of what you think about communist Poland today is not based on reality (because you were just a child), but on what you were told afterwards (via TV, by your parents, etc.). I am well aware that Poles didn't like Soviet system, partly because they didn't like Russians much (especially after the Warsaw rebellion), partly because they were deeply bourgeois by then. But I have a strong suspicion that Poland was not poorer than the Soviet Union (and may be a little bit richer). And in Soviet Union the rationing was only introduced in the last years of the 1980s. And there definitely was chocolate in Soviet Union, lots of it (although there was lots of ersatz too). And toilet paper, well, it's not like you can't manage without it. :)

So I don't believe that you are correct when you paint communist Poland as a butter-less wasteland. And, if you think about it, you don't really need more than 250 grams of butter per month. According to this document, the butter consumption record in the United States in the last few decades was 180 grams per month per capita. 250 grams per month sounds entirely reasonable to me. BTW, that's exactly what I meant when I said consumption dropped through the floor. I am not sure about figures for Poland, but in Russia it did decrease several times for many essential products.

There were many inefficiencies, such as lack of toilet paper, but this was to be expected. It was by design that the society accepted some inefficiencies in order to have a better consumption overall.

As for personal experiences, I lived in Soviet Union. And I remember that even the proletarians could afford caviar from time to time. And everyone could buy cheap quality food, enough for a healthy diet. And don't forget free education, healthcare and other bonuses. And the rent was law, and the air was clean and the Sun didn't set over the Soviet Union. Oh, those were the times...

Seriously, I can accept that because of lazy carpenters the system didn't work as well as it could have with better people. But it was still extremely effective. And eventually we would have industrial robots and we would have enough tables. Sadly, the good things never last. :(

google cache

Found a google cache of their FAQ, basically its a closed source commercial OS, not based on *nix at all, written from scratch so nothing particularly exciting.

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:uKDEuMGmA_sJ: www.macmod.com/content/view/166/2/+&hl=en try this.

Whilst I doubt his claims, Clint(on) Curtis has been making waves about Yang/Feeney for years.
Google cache
Informed Volusian

Often it is difficult to figure out why certain options are dimmed and under what context they will become active.

Then I guess I am breaking their policies by posting

a google cache of the sony.com.au front page

and að google cache of the sonymusic.com.au policy page ;)

Then I guess I am breaking their policies by posting

a google cache of the sony.com.au front page

and að google cache of the sonymusic.com.au policy page ;)

"Miyamoto, credited as the design genius behind key Nintendo franchises including Zelda and Mario, told the magazine that online gaming will reach the mainstream within three to four years, and that Nintendo will be moving in that direction as a result."

Was this backed by in-house council, or was it backed by an external Law Firm.

If it is inhouse council, if the wheels fly off and there is a tide of litigation, Microsoft can only really fire the Council, David Kaefer and staff.

If it is an external law firm it is different. There are apparently only a handful. If they frig it up, microsoft can sue them for giving them the wrong legal advice. These law firms' worth may not add up to the same amount as Micorosfts liability, but it helps

So I think the cream of the Intellectual Property lawyers have advised Microsoft what their exposure to any possible liability is. Law is hard and difficult, but there are a lot of very talented, very experienced lawyers out there, and they work for huge corporates, like M$. If they have mapped out every single current possible legal avenue, then taken into account some possible shifts in Case Law, and possible new laws from government, they could be fairly sure what the exposure could be.

Actuaries do this for insurance all the time, and it makes insurance companies £££ x 10^£££.

Help out grassroots advocacy for Firefox @ Spread Firefox. This is the community that organised the NYTimes add.

The site seems to be down so here is the Google cache and the Corel link.

Mozilla.org is really getting hammered. Try waiting a few hours for the mirrors to update.

Here is a Google cache of the Firefox Mirror List.

Me too ! ,
Im a gentoo user by day, but having recently been required to set up a laptop for a family member and not wanting the chore of maintaining a windows box - I thought I'd give Xandros open circulation edition a try. It was an IBM Thinkpad T22 - and as you describe the installation was flawless all the hardware was detected perfectly and there was no requirement to go through the driver installation - reboot cylcle once the main installation had taken place (unlike windows). I will add though i had to perform some cunning in order to get some additional hardware to work - A belkin wireless pcmcia card using the broadcom chipset which required installation of ndiswrapper- but that is my fault for choosing a hokey wifi card encumbered by top secret features bound by law.. That wasnt a big deal to set up though.

I am extremely impressed with Xandros Open Circulation as a general purpose distro. Its somewhat bare essentials install is also great for those who are overwhelmed by the usual tack of distro's to install everything under the sun. A very tidy and clean setup.

However I did find that some of the packages were a little outdated - which resulted in my having to download and compile stuff from source. I had a hell of a time getting Gimp 2.0 installed for example. None the less Xandros is great if you want to switch a family member to linux and dispense with the Windows pain!

Xandros is my first foray into the debian world and from what I can see the package management "Xandros Networks" system seems pretty cool however dont try and install a lot of non Xandros ".deb" files or you will quickly break the system. I would like to see a debian based system, with the ease of Xandros that is not so heavily tied to a single vendors set of packages - but has the eas of use and installation that Xandros does.

Bottom line Xandros is a great distro for general purpose use, but if you want something a little more bleeding edge with stuff like kde 3.3 and all the trimmings you might be dissappointed.

nick ...