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Probably, Gautama was an Hindu, and a lot in Buddhism is either taken form Hinduism, or a reaction to it.

I read more about Buddhism because at the time my interrest was in meditation, which is huge in Buddhism, and even somebody who is less interrested in the religious side of things can learn a lot from.

My understanding is that although meditation is a big part of Hinduism, it is not the main subject like in Buddhism - note that according to Fontana all societies and religions in the world do have some form of meditation in their practice, and since that question is bound to arise when studying meditation, you would think that this question will be part of most religions... But in Tibetan Buddhism this is a predominant question, probably more so than in any other religions.

And what, exactly, would Apple gain by doing that?

You can purchase Essential System Administration, 3rd Edition from bn.com

It's cheaper, though, from amazon.com ($38.47 v. bn.com's $43.96).

If you're in Canada, chapters.indigo.ca has it for $54.56 Canadian (CAD) -- under $38 US.

For a brilliant and entertaining read about many other ancient inventions check out this book.

And at the risk of stretching credulity there is some conjecture that the Ark of the Covenant may have had the dual characteristic of being a very large capacitor -- two large gold plate surface areas with an acacia wood core -- which may explain its dangerous properties. That is, if the high-priest had impure thoughts, or didn't follow the manual, he would get killed by a lightning bolt. Legend had it that attendants would tie a rope to the high-priest's ankle and in the event of an untimely death they could pull him out instead of risking another's life.

Perhaps it contained a battery of Bagdad cells?

"But lets not forget that as of a little while ago, Linux is on more desktops than MacOS is! [...] [Apple] dying a slow painfull death? Maybe."

Uhh... No.

While Linux desktop market share is slowly increasing, it would still have a way to go before it catches up. An IDC analyst recently predicted that in 2003/2004 Linux desktops would outnumber Mac desktops, but even with this liberal estimation Linux has yet to surpass the MacOS current shipments & installed base. Further, estimations like these do not take into account that more Linux success means more Mac success - the more people considering Liunx, the more are willing to consider MacOS X too (and vice-versa). The "momentum hump" for switchers to get over is the willingness to seriously consider an alterative to Windows; once they make that decision they are often willing to experiement with many systems.

There is also the recent phenomenon of what Tim O'Reilly describes as the migration of the alpha geeks. He has noticed over the last year that many of the influential core developers and stakeholders (the alpha geeks) in the open source movement especially are "choosing Mac OS X." Linux Journal Senior Editor Doc Searls seems to agree, and - will wonders never cease? - there's evidence of IT types now considering Mac solutions.

The reason that these influential adopters are important beyond their mere numbers is that often where they go, much of the industry goes too. Not necessarily resulting in huge market share, but in mindshare and driving a core part of the industry. In fact, contrary to what many people in this forum think, the almighty goal of market share is usually not a worthwhile central objective for a company such as Apple; read Dave Minter's The Myth of Market Share: Why Market Share is the Fool's Gold of Business for some much needed common sense in operating system market share discussions.

There is a really good book that addressing this, along with lots of other geek interesting things. I read it a few years ago, but it is equally interesting today as it was then.

If you have a favorite book search engine, then you might only want the details:
ISBN number: 0679425632
Title: Why things bite back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences
Author: Edward Tenner
Publisher: Random House Canada
Published: May 1996

If you want, you can see it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Indigo.
Go read it. It's interesting.

Bovine America huh? Good thing you aren't part of the masses. Good thing you aren't duped by that.

Have you ever met anyone who claims to be part of the masses? 'Yep, my thoughts don't matter, I'm just a part of the masses. We've got them avant garde folk over on slashdot to look after us.' No? Maybe it's because there -are- no masses.

Go and talk to non-geeks about romantic comedies or movie stars. You'll find that they know the plot will be predictable. They know the formulas. They know that celebrity-watching is pointless. But a lot of them do it to some extent anyway. Maybe there's something to that. Maybe they get the same kick out of watching Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt fall in love that the geek scene gets out of watching Star Wars frame by frame to pick out continuity errors.

Try and find a copy of Watching Dallas by Ien Ang. It make for pretty interesting reading and explains how people actually watch television and movies and pretty much debunks the concept of 'masses'.

There are four books (in order) Gardens of the Moon, Deadhouse Gates, Memories of Ice, and House of Chains. The books are an epic work, like Jordan and Martin, and share a grittiness with Glen Cook, who wrote a series about a group of mercenaries in a fantasy world. Unlike Jordan, the author appears to have a firm grasp on ending a series, and wants to limit the series to ten books.

Like George R. R. Martin, but unlike Jordan, there are no heroes, just people trying to make their way in an immoral and uncaring world. The first two books do a pretty good job of standing alone (you could almost read them interchangeably), but optimally, they should be read in order.

The plots in the books are extremely complex. I believe it isn't until Book 3 that readers won't get a solid idea of what the over arching plot of the series is going to be. Because of this, it can be hard going through the first book because a reader is thrown in to the world cold, into the middle of a largish battle, and the reader is forced to sink or swim with little explanation. Once you get to the second and third books, I felt I had a very good handle of what was going on around me, and surprises abound. Like George R R Martin, Erikson will kill characters that the reader empathizes with, to great effect.

I enjoy this series greatly, and I don't think that there is much better than this in terms of epic fantasy.

There's always Chapters/Indigo

For an independent bookseller, check out McNally Robinson

You should read Hamlet in the original Klingon.

Amusing ourselves to death - Neil Postman

I looked this book up at Chapters.ca (I am Canadian, eh?) And it is red in their picture. IS this a different book?

I looked this book up at Chapters.ca (I am Canadian, eh?) And it is red in their picture. IS this a different book?

Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media - Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky - ISBN 0375714499.

This is the 2002 edition - the book was initially published in 1988, and its model seems to have held up incredibly well.

It is an interesting read, but a bit incomplete. While the author certainly indicated that the people who make these products are exploited, not a lot of space in the article was devoted to that issue. In Naomi Klein's book No Logo, the author describes the working conditions, and wages the workers endure.

You can also check out the website for more info.

Chapters (aka Indigo) has it for $21.00 CDN (for those in the iRewards program it drops an additional $2.10, to $18.90 CDN), which is equal to about $13.20 US. Amazon.ca has it for $23.10 CDN.

First, "Where Wizards Stay up Late: The Origins of the Internet" gives you a great history lesson on the internet from pre ARPA to the present.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0387 08214X/qid=1033932106/sr=1-9/ref=sr_1_9/104-182014 6-7795912?v=glance

Next, "Network models in population biology" talks about how networks form in nature.
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/item.asp?Catalog=Boo ks&Section=Books&Cat=&Lang=en&Item=978068483267&ms cssid=P4HKP76V6GCX8PR0DCK0FETJ22CQAAC9&WSID=1510D0 DFF8E2AF7C45148DDDD366042124C41706

It's interesting to read the above articles keeping these books in mind because of the clear picture we can gain from nature.

...I refuse to believe any civilasation could produce more radiation than a supernova, so we won't be able to see anything that far out!

I believe the book you are referring to is Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard. Note, though, that it is a primary recruiting tool for the cult of Scientology.

I believe Dean Ing has prior art in his (somewhat lame) book, The Ransom of Black Stealth One.

He wrote about using photodetectors on an aircraft and a light emitting "skin" to render a plane invisible.

If anyone in the last hundred years should be told, "no, YOU da man!" it's this guy.

Impressive and inspiring book so far (I'm 3 chapters into it). This is written in the first person, in his own words (naturally), and was edited after his death.

here and here
The links are free of referrals. The Indigo.ca link doesn't have popups and prices are in CAN$.

Sunday was a great day for reading intelligent and insightful commentary on Free Software and Copyleft.

First, I got up to read the letter mentioned here. (Was that really the congressman who penned that?? Wow. In any event, what a very nice read.)

Next, I go to the bookstore and stumble across:
Free, as in Speech and Beer, absolutey without peer as the _best_ most insightful book on copyleft and free software and its implications that I have yet read.
(And I've read a bunch of them.)

The strangest thing: I'd never even heard of it. It was just sitting there on the new releases.

Read the letter above, then go and buy the book, too. On both counts you will be pleasantly surprised at the quality of discourse taking place on the topics we all care about. (Something you don't always get from /. comments.)

The book doesn't appear to be at Amazon yet, but what the hey... Canadian dollars are cheap! (The link above is to the Canadian equivalent of Amazon/B&N)

The ACE reference material is good, but what is hard to come by is good (and up-to-date) examples.

I bought Dr. Schmidt's first ACE book when it came out a few months ago, and I'll be buying the next one when it comes out. It is full of good examples.

Not to "me too!" this thread, but I also program with the STL on Solaris, and I find it excellent.

I own the STL Tutorial and Reference Guide and Effective STL.

On the web, I use the SGI docs and also the Rogue Wave Docs since the Solaris STL is from Rogue Wave. I find them both adequate for 99% of the programming that I do. The one thing to note on Solaris is that the STL is missing a hash map. The hashmap is technically not part of the STL spec yet, but it most likely will be for the next iteration, and the stlport implementation has one available.

Several people have mentioned one of the downsides being unintelligible error messages. This is true, but I think that (on Solaris anyways) error messages coming from templated code generally suck.

Not to "me too!" this thread, but I also program with the STL on Solaris, and I find it excellent.

I own the STL Tutorial and Reference Guide and Effective STL.

On the web, I use the SGI docs and also the Rogue Wave Docs since the Solaris STL is from Rogue Wave. I find them both adequate for 99% of the programming that I do. The one thing to note on Solaris is that the STL is missing a hash map. The hashmap is technically not part of the STL spec yet, but it most likely will be for the next iteration, and the stlport implementation has one available.

Several people have mentioned one of the downsides being unintelligible error messages. This is true, but I think that (on Solaris anyways) error messages coming from templated code generally suck.

What my Wearable Computer Is (and Isn't)

I am developing a device I call the PIASYS (pie' AH sis), or Personal Intelligence Augmentation SYStem. It is a specialized Wearable Computer.

When most people hear the term "Wearable Computer", they usually picture things like big ugly head-mounted displays, cumbersome input methods (including voice control), bulky hardware, and of course, just plain looking too "different" (or as described on Slashdot: "like a borg reject").

So, there are plenty of preconceptions about wearable computers.

However, the PIASYS has neither a mouse nor a keyboard. Neither does it use voice recognition as its primary interface. The only input is a few conveniently-located buttons (on a ring, a pen, etc). The screen is embedded in a pair of sunglasses, superimposing the computer's output onto the "Real World". A video camera accompanies the display in the glasses. The hardware all fits into a small package, easily worn under clothing. In fact, it's not obvious a person wearing the PISYS is in fact wearing or even using a computer.

Does it replace a "Real" computer? No. Why? Because the PIASYS does mostly totally different things than a desktop system. And for good reason. The PIASYS is not made to allow you to write code on the bus, or to use a CAD program in the park (though you could do these things if you wanted). The PIASYS is instead intended to enhance those abilities we already have and use in our everyday lives. It helps you see, it helps you remember, it helps you memorize, and it helps you think more efficiently (just as a calculator helps you do math more efficiently). And most importantly, it is private. The data, unless explicitly shared, is no one's but yours.

The PIASYS is designed around two core concepts. First, my concept of "Personal Intelligence", and secondly the concept of "Intelligence Augmentation". It is the idea of having a system available to you that is both personal and private, and designed to greatly enhance your ability to gather, store, and recall useful news, information, and resources (intelligence) pertaining to you and your personal space.Also, it serves as an additional "brain", offering the brute force computational ability of a computer at your fingertips, as well as the resources of the Internet, and the resources of other people (whom you can connect to and confer with via the PIASYS or similar wearable system).

For example, the PIASYS effects a great enhancement of personal intelligence by being able to perform such tasks as:

Face Recognition

Intelligent Reminder Management

Navigation Aiding

Retroactive Recording of Audio and Video

Instant Messaging

Providing a limited (and sometimes literal) Photographic Memory

Providing realtime Reference Materials

Allowing Live Collaborative Conferencing

That's only a few of the immense possibilities.

So, without a mouse or keyboard - how does one "use" the PIASYS? The short answer is that it mostly uses itself. It is designed not to be used like a desktop computer, but rather to sit in the background, quietly assisting you in whatever ELSE you may be doing, rather than requiring you to spend your time interfacing to IT.

In practical terms, the PIASYS uses environmental and contextual factors as most of it's input. The rest is supplied in the form of commands or confirmations by the user. A few simple buttons are sufficient to allow the user to tell the PIASYS what to do in any given situation.

Some functions require explicit input (commands). For example, imagine someone has just told you a name and phone number. You could (with a simple button click) tell your PIASYS to "record video and audio from five seconds ago" immediately after hearing the needed information -- which could then serve as a reminder. You could do a similar recording of an event that has already happened in other circumstances: after witnessing an accident, after dealing with an official you suspect may change his or her story, or after seeing or hearing something especially interesting.

Other inputs are implicit, rather than explicit. Your PIASYS may automatically record recent events after your pulse rises sharply, for example. A video or audio or textual reminder may be presented automatically once you have reached a certain location. Or when you see a certain object, or a certain person (Face Recognition).

A simple input from the user (like clicking his or her ring) can serve as confirmation, rather than command. For example, the PIASYS can record every direction change you take as you are travelling, then ask if you would like them replayed to retrace your steps when it detects you may be lost (which it may infer by your uncertain movements).

The point is that the PIASYS is not a desktop replacement - nor is it even a desktop contender. It is a computer, but with a completely different purpose: to help you in your everyday life and allow you more control over yourself, your data, and your private space -- not less.

For more information about the issues I attempt to address with the PIASYS (as well as other solutions), visit the Philosophy links here at Man-Machines.

Some good information can also be had from Professor Steve Mann's "Cyborg - Digital Destiny and Human Possibility in the Age of the Wearable Computer".

What about this well known book?

Any author can stay in at the Holiday Inn and get a *gasp* free complimentary copy of an equivelent from the Gideons.

This is info hoarding at its worst, IMHO. ...(insert diatribe about scientific discovery and education here)...

It's enough to make the Baby Jes...ummm, nevermind.

Soko

Fuck the 3rd world, its not our fault the state they're in. We dragged ourselves out of a stone age culture, they didn't. Well thats their damn problem.

On the whole, this post is a troll and should be treated as such.

However, in response to the claim "it's not our fault", I would encourage people to check out this site: nologo.org and get a different perspective.

If you have the time and/or inclination, I would highly recommend Naiomi Klein's book of the same name.

Working on a machine that has 128k of memory and uses an NTSC monitor is pointless; most wristwatches have more processing power than that nowadays.

I understand the point your trying to make, but you're clearly ignorant of present technology if you think most wristwatches have a CPU more powerful than an Apple ][ or more than 128k of memory. Most wristwatches I see today are still analog, and most of the remaining digital ones have far poorer specs than an Apple ][. Care to change your definition of "most" or "processing power"? ;-)

Some people need to just grow up and change with the times. Nostalgia is good but living in the past will get you nowhere. Get a grip.

People who UNDERSTAND the technology they use commonly have a VERY good grip. Of course, they LOOK like they're standing still compared to those who chase the bleeding edge of tech and never quite get a grip on any of it.

Your watch analogy reminded me of a quote from James Gleick's book Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything:
"A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with 2 watches is never sure".

That book will really ruffle the feathers of anyone who thinks the only way to make progress is to develop more and newer and faster technologies. Very good book. /. review here and more info here and here.

I also know that they are working on a Java version of the book, that should be out Real Soon.

Please note that the link I've given is to a Canadian bookseller, so it's aboot 30 bucks less for you yanks... :)

Now there are probably more bugs in IE than Netscape, but I do recall after just reading through HTML - The Complete Reference, that everywhere you looked it kept mentioning how this and that work fine under IE, but not under netscape.

However, when considering "Standards Compliant", IE does go beyond the standards quite a bit, implementing their own features everywhere. This has good and bad implications, since many pages will only render properly under IE, however if the W3C incorporates them into the next set of HTML standards, it can make HTML better (or more cluttered).

In Canada there is:

• www.chapters.ca
• www.indigo.ca

Even though they are in Canada I would still recommend Indigo or Chapters. I found some books that were the same price in CAD as in USD. That makes for a 33% discount over the average American price, given the exchange rate. I've used Indigo and was quite pleased.