Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Domains

Domain: amazon.co.uk

Stories and comments across the archive that link to amazon.co.uk.

Comments · 1,741

  1. Re:That's It?? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1 · on Going Deep Inside Vista's Kernel Architecture

    For anyone wishing to learn a bit more about the NT kernel, I can thoroughly recommend Tanenbaum's Modern Operating Systems. It covers Linux and NT in some detail. In spite of being VMS Lite, the NT kernel is very impressive in a number of ways. Something of a contrast, unfortunately, from the layers of cruft Microsoft have layered on top of it.

  2. Re:This gave me an idea. by bheading · · Score: 3, Informative · on System on a Chip Concurrent Development

    Software to run C code on an FPGA already exists. Here's a book on the subject.

    I leafed through this book in a bookstore a while ago. The type of thing they do at the moment is mostly DSP/heavily algorithmic stuff, ie like encryption, compression or checksumming etc.

    An OS kernel is mostly shifting data structures around; the algorithms are very clever but also computationally relatively lightweight. In terms of choosing the best way to allocate real estate on a CPU die, an FPGA would not provide the same benefit as much as a CPU hardwired to help the OS as much as possible (eg context switching hardware, high speed caching, multimedia SIMD instructions etc).

    The main problem with FPGAs at the moment is that they are expensive relative to hardwired devices. Their main use is still prototyping or research. Once you've designed a really useful device with one and made it stable, you'll want to turn it into a hardwired ASIC if you're producing the hardware in any kind of volume.

  3. Re:The other way around by smeenz · · Score: 1 · on Beagle 2 Probe Spotted on Mars
    With a question like that, you need to go and read 'Darwin's Watch', by Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart, and Jack Cohen - as it has some VERY informative and detailed answers to your question.

    Seriously.. go read it.

  4. Re:Turn off the boob tube and read a damn book by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1 · on Analog Hole Legislation Formally Introduced

    I suggest you read this book (and, ideally, the others in the series) - it's all about DRM being introduced into books (as well as being full of both geeky and literary references). An enjoyable read of itself, and also a very good way of explaining DRM to the less technically-inclined.

  5. UK Hospital Added by FalconZero · · Score: 5, Informative · on Child's Play Approaches Half a Million Dollars
    Child's play added a UK hospital: Alder Hey childrens hospital. So UK gamers/nerds out there should get over there and donate (if you havn't already).

    Direct Links
  6. Re:In case you missed the first 10 comments by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1 · on A New TCP/IP Classic
    Interesting that the Wikipedia entry misses the Second Edition of Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment - my own personal favourite reference book. This is the book to read for cross-platform programming - it covers POSIX and SUS standards as well as giving details on the implementation of these standards on Linux, FreeBSD, OS X and Solaris. It covers pretty much everything that a low-level (userspace) coder needs to know for writing code on *NIX.

  7. Re:Steve Krug by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1 · on A Programmer's Bookshelf

    I would also recommend Raskin's The Humane Interface. He's a bit text-centric in places, but it's still a good read. When I read it, he was happy to answer questions over email, but I don't think he does that anymore (he's still waiting for the 'net connection to be installed).

  8. Re:Has anyone else read by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1 · on A Programmer's Bookshelf

    I'd also recommend The Diamond Age. Not only is it a tremendously enjoyable read, it also has one of the best (and most approachable) explanations of the Church-Turing Thesis that I have ever read.

  9. My list by elodan · · Score: 1 · on A Programmer's Bookshelf
    Just suggested the following list to my manager the other day...

  10. My list by elodan · · Score: 1 · on A Programmer's Bookshelf
    Just suggested the following list to my manager the other day...

  11. My list by elodan · · Score: 1 · on A Programmer's Bookshelf
    Just suggested the following list to my manager the other day...

  12. My list by elodan · · Score: 1 · on A Programmer's Bookshelf
    Just suggested the following list to my manager the other day...

  13. My list by elodan · · Score: 1 · on A Programmer's Bookshelf
    Just suggested the following list to my manager the other day...

  14. My list by elodan · · Score: 1 · on A Programmer's Bookshelf
    Just suggested the following list to my manager the other day...

  15. My list by elodan · · Score: 1 · on A Programmer's Bookshelf
    Just suggested the following list to my manager the other day...

  16. What kind of geeks are they? by skurk · · Score: 2, Interesting · on A Programmer's Bookshelf

    Programmers? Hardware hackers? Gamers? Gadget geeks?

    If your friends are into 3D programming or game development, I recommend some books about OpenGL.
    I know I want this one, "OpenGL Game Programming":
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/076153330 3/qid=1134394525/sr=8-8/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i8_xgl/202- 6834711-0899839

    ..or maybe even "Open Source Game Programming: Qt Games for KDE, PDA's and Windows":
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/158450406 4/qid=1134395013/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_11_3/202-6834711- 0899839

    If your friends are into hardware hacking, I recommend "Apple I Replica Creation":
    http://books.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/03/ 0429213&tid=222&tid=6&tid=3
    I own this book myself and it's pretty cool, it covers almost all the DIY basics for building an 8-bit computer. How cool is that?

    And ofcourse, for the gadget freaks you have ThinkGeek and Nerdorama..

  17. What kind of geeks are they? by skurk · · Score: 2, Interesting · on A Programmer's Bookshelf

    Programmers? Hardware hackers? Gamers? Gadget geeks?

    If your friends are into 3D programming or game development, I recommend some books about OpenGL.
    I know I want this one, "OpenGL Game Programming":
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/076153330 3/qid=1134394525/sr=8-8/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i8_xgl/202- 6834711-0899839

    ..or maybe even "Open Source Game Programming: Qt Games for KDE, PDA's and Windows":
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/158450406 4/qid=1134395013/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_11_3/202-6834711- 0899839

    If your friends are into hardware hacking, I recommend "Apple I Replica Creation":
    http://books.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/03/ 0429213&tid=222&tid=6&tid=3
    I own this book myself and it's pretty cool, it covers almost all the DIY basics for building an 8-bit computer. How cool is that?

    And ofcourse, for the gadget freaks you have ThinkGeek and Nerdorama..

  18. Re: Lyric Site Shutdowns by LordFnord · · Score: 1 · on Music Should Be Heard But Not Understood
    Doesn't have the same ring as the original:

    Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium
    Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum.
    Deine Zauber binden wieder, was die Mode streng geteilt;
    Alle Menschen werden Brüder, wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

    (Now I'm going to get sued by Beethoven and Schiller, or what's left of them).

    ObWikipediaLink. This recording is probably definitive but the 1957 Klemperer and 1951 Furtwangler versions are also worth a go if you can live with mono.

    Not quite decided whether the 9th is the Best Music Ever, but it's in my top five.

    </classical geek>

  19. Re:Wrong historical event by Zog+The+Undeniable · · Score: 1 · on Sober Attack on 87th Anniversary of the Nazi Party
    Or the 152nd anniversary of the sinking of the San Francisco Steamer? (any relation to the Cleveland Steamer?)

    /looks up "Cleveland Steamer" in Roger's Profanisaurus

    You, sir, are one sick, sick, puppy.

  20. Re:B5 by 2008 · · Score: 1 · on The Scripts of J. Michael Straczynski, Vol. 1
    There was no Lexx TV series.

    Whoa! Then what was I watching?

    Oh yeah, it was the Lexx TV series.
  21. Re:Meanwhile, the original Xbox drops in price... by EddWo · · Score: 1 · on Xbox 360 Launches In Europe
    Composite is never going to look very good on any medium to large size standard TV thats why you can choose to use the Advanced AV Scart Cable to receive the picture over RGB.

    The best bet for people without HDTVs is probably to use a VGA cable to connect to a PC monitor.

  22. Meanwhile, the original Xbox drops in price... by rklrkl · · Score: 1 · on Xbox 360 Launches In Europe
    Seemingly unnoticed by any of the UK press, the original Xbox - now a totally un-newsworthy item of course - has dropped to 79.99 pounds with free postage from two major online sites - play.com and Amazon UK.

    Let me see:

    Original Xbox - 80 quid, no overheating problems, over 1,000 games available, game prices around 30 quid and many games in bargain bins at 10-15 quid, "modifiable", can run Linux after "modification", in stock everywhere.

    Xbox 360 - 280 quid, some overheating issues, a few dozen games available, game prices around 45-50 quid and no discounted games yet, not modifiable, can't run Linux at all, not really in stock unless you queue for hours and pre-order months in advance.

    Is it just me or are you better off buying an original Xbox now and getting an Xbox 360 in Xmas 2006? Or is that just common sense talking?

  23. Haynes Baby Manual by ReVMD · · Score: 2, Funny · on Geeky Gifts for New Dads, The Goodfather

    In the UK we've had the Haynes baby manual for a couple of years. Its brilliantly done and structured the exact same way they do their car manuals.

  24. Re:Correction: by vrai · · Score: 1 · on Sequels Turning Off Game Consumers

    I believe Pro Evolution is the non-Asia name for Winning Eleven. It's published by Konami, in the UK at least, and is available for the PS2, PSP, XBox, XBox 360 and PC.

  25. Re:It works! by Haydn+Fenton · · Score: 3, Interesting · on Hypnosis Gets Positive Recognition

    Yeah, placebo normally plays a relatively substancial part in hypnosis. If you don't think hypnotism is possible, the chances are you won't be able to be hypnotised very easily, if at all.

    I'm certainly no expert but I was interested in it myself about half a year ago and bought The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism. It has two main sections, one of them is more about the theory side of things (although it doesn't go into as much detail as some of the free websites I've read), and the other has a mind boggling huge array of methods and techniques for putting people into the state(s) of hypnosis and the things that are possible when it's achieved. There are some pretty amazing things people can do when in the deeper states of hypnosis, such as "feeling" the hypnotist touch them (on the back, for example) although the hypnotist doesn't actually touch them, instead the fingers are brought an few inches away from the skin. You can also anesthetise parts of the body, so the subject will feel no sensation at all, following this you could, for example, put a sterilised needle through the skin and leave no mark; no blood, no pain and with the subject fully conscious. You can make blisters appear on the skin simply by touching it, and make them disappear as well. There are lots of other amazing things that have slipped my mind atm. Chances are you'll have seen people like Derren Brown do these kind of things on TV (at least here in the UK anyway).

    Both the theory (mainly) and practical have always intrigued me, I've never actually tried hypnotising anyone myself though.

    And a special message for those who are sceptical... WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!

  26. Strange by Dan+Hayes · · Score: 1 · on Geneticists Claim Aging Breakthrough

    I've read that book, except it's called The Long Habit of Living.

  27. Re:The Colour of Magic is a weird choice... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1 · on Top 20 Geek Novels
    Meh. I have no skill today. Corrected links:

    The Well of Lost Plots

    The Ayre Affair

  28. Re:The Colour of Magic is a weird choice... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1 · on Top 20 Geek Novels
    Meh. I have no skill today. Corrected links:

    The Well of Lost Plots

    The Ayre Affair

  29. The Cuckoo's Egg of course! by MatsPalats · · Score: 1 · on Top 20 Geek Novels

    Just the subtitle should make it qualify for that list... "Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage"

    Excellent book by Clifford Stoll, he details how he got involved in computer security.
    It's really a quite exciting thriller like story.

    Book Description
    Cliff Stoll was an astronomer turned systems manager at Lawrence Berkeley Lab when a 75-cent accounting error alerted him to the presence of an unauthorized user on his system. The hacker's code name was "Hunter" -- a mystery invader hiding inside a twisting electronic labyrinth, breaking into U.S. computer systems and stealing sensitive military and security information. Stoll began a one-man hunt of his own, spying on the spy -- and plunged into an incredible international probe that finally gained the attention of top U.S. counterintelligence agents. The Cuckoo's Egg is his wild and suspenseful true story -- a year of deception, broken codes, satellites, missile bases, and the ultimate sting operation -- and how one ingenious American trapped a spy ring paid in cash and cocaine,and reporting to the KGB.

    Read more at Amazon

  30. Re:The Colour of Magic is a weird choice... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 4, Informative · on Top 20 Geek Novels
    I think my favourite geeky touch was the cryptographical engine whose acronym was E.N.I.G.M.A. (also not spelt out, and also only spotted on the second reading). The geek references have always been there though. In The Colour of Magic (I believe, possible The Light Fantastic) there is a druid talking about people wanting to upgrade to the latest 33 Megalith stone circles - published when a 486 DX 33 was top of the range.

    Another geeky author I can recommend is Jasper Fforde. The Well of Lost Plots, the penultimate book in the series that started with The Well of Lost Plots would appeal to many Slashdot readers (read the earlier ones first though) dealing, as it does, with the topic of DRM. Set in the book world, the world inside fiction, Thusday Next, litterary detective, discovers that the next version of the book OS (an upgrade from the old 8-plot system to a new, improved, 32-plot system with all sorts of extra features) contains a system which prevents a book from being read more than three times. It's full of references to classic literature and more geeky references (a large number of comments about old versions of the book OS, for example, held for old versions of MS DOS). A good read for anyone, and the book to use to explain DRM to your less technically inclined friends.

  31. Re:The Colour of Magic is a weird choice... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 4, Informative · on Top 20 Geek Novels
    I think my favourite geeky touch was the cryptographical engine whose acronym was E.N.I.G.M.A. (also not spelt out, and also only spotted on the second reading). The geek references have always been there though. In The Colour of Magic (I believe, possible The Light Fantastic) there is a druid talking about people wanting to upgrade to the latest 33 Megalith stone circles - published when a 486 DX 33 was top of the range.

    Another geeky author I can recommend is Jasper Fforde. The Well of Lost Plots, the penultimate book in the series that started with The Well of Lost Plots would appeal to many Slashdot readers (read the earlier ones first though) dealing, as it does, with the topic of DRM. Set in the book world, the world inside fiction, Thusday Next, litterary detective, discovers that the next version of the book OS (an upgrade from the old 8-plot system to a new, improved, 32-plot system with all sorts of extra features) contains a system which prevents a book from being read more than three times. It's full of references to classic literature and more geeky references (a large number of comments about old versions of the book OS, for example, held for old versions of MS DOS). A good read for anyone, and the book to use to explain DRM to your less technically inclined friends.

  32. Re:First Contact hater by DJCF · · Score: 1 · on Space.com's Top 10 Space Movies of All Time

    The William Shatner book, though, was very, very good. Probably the best Trek book I've ever read.

  33. Re:me too!! by kernel2 · · Score: 1 · on 802.11 for Linux Non-Geeks?
    I've also recently tried to build a server with a pci wifi card in it but it was a pain to find a good and well-supported card under linux. After deciding that the Atheros chipset had "not bad" support, I decided to get this card. I haven't managed to make it work properly however. It doesn't seem to find my access point unless I force it to, and the other problem is that the txpower (transmission power) of the card is very low on linux. I get only about 30/100 strength when the machine is right next to the access point!

    The main reason I got this card is because it is the ONLY card from among a FEW that I found that purported to support WPA! I couldn't believe that most of the pci cards available in general only seemed to support upto 128-bit WEP, unless I have been looking in the wrong place or something.

    I also have a 1.5 year old ASUS Centrino laptop that now works beautifully out-of-the-box with Ubuntu Breezy! Mind you, I still had to compile some modules to get WPA working, but SUSE 9.3 onwards or so has WPA on this laptop working as well from a fresh install with no tweaking.

    As per the original poster, I was thinking about buying this Intel Mini-PCI adapter instead. I've been out of the loop a bit lately, but I think you can buy an adapter that will allow you to plug in a mini-pci card onto a normal pci slot? If so, then I might exchange my Netgear with this, that should work much better.

  34. Re:me too!! by kernel2 · · Score: 1 · on 802.11 for Linux Non-Geeks?
    I've also recently tried to build a server with a pci wifi card in it but it was a pain to find a good and well-supported card under linux. After deciding that the Atheros chipset had "not bad" support, I decided to get this card. I haven't managed to make it work properly however. It doesn't seem to find my access point unless I force it to, and the other problem is that the txpower (transmission power) of the card is very low on linux. I get only about 30/100 strength when the machine is right next to the access point!

    The main reason I got this card is because it is the ONLY card from among a FEW that I found that purported to support WPA! I couldn't believe that most of the pci cards available in general only seemed to support upto 128-bit WEP, unless I have been looking in the wrong place or something.

    I also have a 1.5 year old ASUS Centrino laptop that now works beautifully out-of-the-box with Ubuntu Breezy! Mind you, I still had to compile some modules to get WPA working, but SUSE 9.3 onwards or so has WPA on this laptop working as well from a fresh install with no tweaking.

    As per the original poster, I was thinking about buying this Intel Mini-PCI adapter instead. I've been out of the loop a bit lately, but I think you can buy an adapter that will allow you to plug in a mini-pci card onto a normal pci slot? If so, then I might exchange my Netgear with this, that should work much better.

  35. Re:There's probably no mention of subsidizing by jrumney · · Score: 1 · on Brit TV Won't Go Digital Till 2012

    Slightly more than US$50, but in the ballpark. Of course, this one will not work with whatever system the US is switching to, but it does show that the price is realistic.

  36. Re:Cheeky government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative · on Brit TV Won't Go Digital Till 2012

    A freeview box can be bought for £29.99 or a fair bit less with a bit of searching, there's no need to subsidise.

  37. Did anyone else read this and think... by Handpaper · · Score: 1 · on Mad Scientist Invents Colored Bubbles
    buy as many colored products as he could afford. Back in his kitchen, he'd dump the Fruit Roll-Ups or Juicy Juice into a pan, heat it on the stove

    George's Marvellous Medicine?

    Shall we call this the 'Dahl Technique' for experimental chemical synthesis?

  38. Schott's Original Miscellany by PaschalNee · · Score: 2, Interesting · on The Areas of My Expertise

    Similar effort - a book full of stuff

  39. Re:wow! by stevey · · Score: 1 · on Google Striking Fear into the Corporate Masses
    "If we found out some other retailer is getting a cheaper price on something from the same distributor/manufacturer, our purchasing price will drop below theirs retroactively"

    Interestingly I've seen a few things like that here in the UK, but only one company has actually gotten in touch with me after I've bought something to say "Hey our price just dropped - have some money back".

    Guess who?

    Amazon. They sent me an email to tell me that they'd lowered the prices on something I'd bought literally a day or two before, and then included a discount code for the value of the difference.

    That made my day - and would be something realitively easily done by many companys. After all for the large purchases you have your customers names and addresses on file most likely for delivery purposes, right?

  40. Re:The most important difference by Tim+Browse · · Score: 1 · on Online vs. Traditional Degrees?
    To quote from Lost for Words by John Humphrys:

    I shall probably not go as far as the little boy who, it is said, disliked a book about Australia that his mother was fond of reading to him at bedtime and finally demanded, "What have you brought that book I don't like being read to out of about Down Under up for?"

    (The Harvard joke is further down the same page :-)

  41. Re:Cutting off nose to spite face by Fafnir43 · · Score: 1 · on Using Copyrights To Fight Intelligent Design
    Had I the time to do the research while sitting here at work, I'd love to. Maybe I'll bother on Wikipedia soon, or maybe you should try Google Research instead.

    I did. I couldn't find anyone. The only two promising candidates I did find don't qualify:

    - Lee Spetner (a Nobel Prize-winning biophysicist with a PhD from MIT) attacks Darwinian evolution, but at no point endorses Intelligent Design as a theory. In fact, on closer examination he argues that macroevolution does in fact occur - just not in the Darwinian fashion (see the 'From the Author' section).

    - Frank Tipler (a mathematical physicist, currently a professor at Tulane) may believe in intelligent design, but I have been unable to find any evidence that he believes this is a scientific theory and should be taught in schools. The Wikipedia article on the ID movement states that he sympathises with the aims of the Discovery Institute, but I have been unable to find any quote or statement from him to this effect and for this reason I believe the article is inaccurate. Furthermore, his one generally publicised work on the subject of creation (The Anthropomorphic Cosmology Principle) focuses not on conventional ID but a similar argument unrelated to evolution (that the constants of the universe appear to be finely tuned to allow intelligent life to arise).

    I haven't read the books, so correct me if I'm wrong.

    That said, intelligent design is a very recent version of creationism that does not require that the Christian God is the 'intelligence' in question, since that part of the equation would be very difficult to prove (as per your complaint).

    It doesn't require the Christian God, true, but the presence of any intelligence at all in the process makes no falsifiable predictions that I can see.

    I'd like to digress here too -- much of the complaint by those who wish to have these other ideas pointed out in said science classrooms is simply that much of evolutionary theory (in terms of 'origin of the species', or what creationists often call 'macro-evolution') has numerous problems and holes (no I'm not going to enumerate here, this is Slashdot) despite its various predictions.

    Speaking as someone who hasn't made a detailed study of the evidence in support as macroevolution, I can't truthfully say I know the theory's without holes - even gaping holes. I believe it is, because the principle makes sense and the scientists who have examined the evidence mostly believe it, but I acknowledge that belief without full examination of the evidence is worth very little.

    However, evolution does at least have a good deal of evidence in favour of it, in the form of microevolution, statistical data and paleontological finds. I haven't seen any evidence in favour of intelligent design - all of the arguments in favour of it seem to focus exclusively on attacking evolution rather than proving intelligent design. In other words, even if evolution is false, it does not follow that intelligent design is true and there is no evidence to support the idea. I could be wrong here - tell me if you know any arguments.

    The complaint leads to 'why are uneducated teachers refering to evolution as a factual account of the origin of life on earth when so many people disagree?' Again, cf. the poll by (CNN?) showing that a vast majority of americans believe a 'god' created the planet and humanity as it is now.

    The fact that a large number of people disagree with a statement doesn't make it false. Counterexample for the American population: "America won Vietnam". I could also argue that the lack of belief simply reflects a lack of education, or poor education, about the concept of evolution. For example, the m

  42. Papazian by BarryNorton · · Score: 1 · on Nestle Patents Coffee Beer

    Charlie Papazian in the 'Bible' of homebrew talks about the use of coffee in brewing beer, and I believe this stands since the first edition in 1984.

  43. Not on Amazon UK by Martin+Spamer · · Score: 2, Informative · on Sony DRM Installs a Rootkit?

    There is no warning on the Amazon UK site for this CD.

    Any rootkit would be clear violation of sections 2 and 3 of the Computer Missuse Act. This Act comes from EU treaty obligations so substantially similar legislation exists throughout Europe. The territorial scope of this Act only requires one of the parties to the offense to be in the UK. So buying this from Amazon UK should cover you even if you dont live in the UK.

  44. Re:Keep it. It's still needed. by h4rm0ny · · Score: 1 · on Underground 'Cold War City' For Sale


    You're right on your evaluation of power in Britain, but you miss one thing - if there is a nuclear strike, or even just civil unrest - anything that offers protection will be taken by the military. Money has value because it is backed by guns.

    Incidentally, the Corsham site is well known and there is a good book on it here for anyone who is interested in this.

  45. Amazon do one by seanellis · · Score: 2, Informative · on OGG Capable Car Stereos?

    Amazon UK sells the Yakumo Hypersound car, an ogg-capable in-dash CD unit with USB and SD card support, for £80.


    Link to Amazon Page


    According to Amazon, mine's in the post and should arrive monday. The OGG support isn't made obvious, but if you go to the manufacturer's website and download the manual, it's there in the back. NOT a high profile promo for OGG, but it's a nice cheap unit and my tape player was dying anyway.

  46. I like it. Documentation is good. by Tandoori+Haggis · · Score: 2, Insightful · on OpenBSD Turns 10

    I've been using SuSe Linux for a few years but I've also taken an interest in OpenBSD for a while. Recently I decided to give it a go. The online documentation is very well thought out. To suppliment online documentation I opted for an excellent book which should help new and experienced *nix users alike in getting the best from OpenBSD for their requirements. Absolute OpenBSD by Michael W. Lucas ISBN 1-886411-99-9 http://www.nostarch.com/ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-fo rm/103-8285097-8052630/ http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/188641199 9/qid%3D1129994895/026-1045610-3018009/ I like the way OpenBSD has been produced and the way in which it encourages good practice.

  47. Re:Not Bad, Not Spectacular by jammyd · · Score: 1 · on Apple Unveils New Pro Products

    | The thing that caught my eye was the addition of a second gigabit ethernet port. Dual gigabit ethernet ports
    | means instant network rendering for Logic Node, XGrid, or any app that supports it. No expensive (given, these
    | Macs are costly enough as is) gigabit router needed.

    I'm not sure what you're on?

    I don't know anything about Logic Node or XGrid, but I know enough for your use of Dual-gigE + routers that you're not clued up.

    If Dual-GigE solves your problems, then you're not talking about routers; You're talking switches. GigE switches arn't expensive now. The first URL I hit on Google: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000E5SE S/026-9812224-0738810

  48. The Chicken from Minsk by pbhj · · Score: 1 · on Your Favorite Math/Logic Riddles?

    Was my favourite riddle book when I was in school; it's by Yuri B Chernyak and Robert M Rose.

    It apparently comes from a Russian tradition of maths and science riddles.

    chicken from minsk or chicken from minsk (UK)

    Eg, from chapter 6:1

    "A plumbing problem"
    A faucet / tap has been left slightly open for some time, and a gentle stream of water flows downward. Why does the stream become thinner as it gets farther away from the faucet / tap.

    There are lots of simple problems like this that can really make you wonder why you'd not looked at water streams as closely in the past! There are some pretty brutal problems too. You get hints and full answers (usually with equations).

  49. Human Instinct by Robert Winston by Anonymous+Writer · · Score: 4, Interesting · on Deciphering the Brain's Love Map

    I recall seeing an interesting BBC documentary called Human Instinct by Professor Robert Winston that explored the science behind attraction. There were heaps of interesting things they uncovered in the research studies he reported on.

    They used morphing to create faces and had people rate the attractiveness of these faces. One experiment used faces that were morphed from female faces to male faces. They found that women tended to be more attracted to male faces that exhibited less masculine features generally. But ovulating women found male faces with more masculine features attractive. They also found that people tended to be more attracted to faces that have some similarities to their own. They did this by morphing a little bit of a test subject's face into some of the samples.

    Another interesting test had to do with immune systems and scents. In their studies, they found that people with more different immune systems were more attracted to each other. In the example for the documentary, they tested five (or six- I forget) female subjects for certain immune system markers. They rated them from those that had markers more closely resembling Prof. Winston's own immune system to those that were more different. They then had these women sleep in shirts (over a span of nights, I think) so the shirts would smell. These shirts were placed in sealed jars. In the demonstration, Prof. Winston had to smell each jar and rate them from best to worst. Sure enough, the pattern in which he arranged them exactly matched the pattern of how his immune system compared to that of the shirt's owner.

  50. Re:Bullshit by Tim+Browse · · Score: 1 · on Taking On Software Liability - Again
    To make an example: The WTC was designed to survive an airplane crash. Now, 9/11 showed that it didn't survive that airplane crash. Was that a bug in the building? Well, no, it wasnt. The design was explicitly to survive a crash with the largest airplane which existed at the time it was built.

    The WTC was finished in 1973. The first prototype of the 747 flew in 1969, and Boeing had made its plans for the 747 public in 1966. The 747 was and still is the largest airliner in the world. The WTC was hit by two 767 aircraft. The 767 aircraft are considerably smaller than a 747.

    IIRC, one of the reasons for the catastrophic failure of the WTC is that the planes were outgoing flights, and hence full of aviation fuel, which leaked out of the planes and into the steel structure, burning and melting the steel, thus weakening the towers to the point of collapse.

    In any case, the size of the planes probably had little to do with the results - I saw a documentary once about skyscraper construction, and they asked the architects/engineers involved about the "What if an airliner crashes into it?" scenario. They explained the large forces the buildings have to survive from just the wind pressure on the building, and compared this to the force of a plane crashing into the building. The wind was by far the greater of the two forces. It was the large quantity of burning aviation fuel that caused the problems.

    But I am, of course, not an engineer.

    And if we're talking largest airplane, then the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy troop carrier is both larger and heavier than a 747 :-) (Others, such as the Antonov An-225 are larger still, but weren't around until the 1980s).

    See, I knew those childhood years I spent playing Top Trumps would come in handy one day :-)