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But most of the people making the buying decisions in the private sector are idiots who don't know what they're buying. They buy MS because they're following the pack, not because they think it's good.

Jason
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The problem with leap days has nothing to do with the Roman calendar. It is because the time it takes the Earth to revolve around the Sun is not an integer multiple of the time it takes the Earth to rotate on its axis. The Lunar calendars you mention have leap-months.

Jason
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If it were my choice, the childish email campaign would just make me more determined to keep the firebird name. Sending offensive messages to people who have nothing to do with the name change is no way to get things done. Maybe AOL can send it's lawyers after IBPhoenix for DoSing them. They can easily show damages in lost developer time deleting the messages and extra load on their mail server.

Jason
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Yes, but why in the world would anyone buy an iPaq or any winCE piece of crap? PalmOS is far superior both from a usability and programming point of view. I wouldn't trade my Visor Deluxe for 10 iPaqs, except maybe to sell them to suckers on ebay and buy another palm handheld. New palmOS 3.x devices are available for well under $100. If you want colour, even the IIIc can be had for $90 as a new OEM.

I find it funny that you posted that as AC. You're too afraid to have anyone know you recommended an iPaq, and the only reason you did is because it's so over-priced and you're using it as an example of how expensive handhelds are.

Jason
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For what these things cost, you could buy a cell phone, digital camera, and PDA, all of which will have better specs than the phone. If you skimp a bit on the camera and PDA, you can add an mp3 player too.

Considering that, what is the point of this combo phone? It's huge, I want my cell phone to be tiny so I can have it at the bottom of a pocket and forget about it. Another point, what happens when you want to upgrade one of the parts, with the combo-phone you lose everything and have to re-buy it all.

To top things off, the 3650 is ugly, and why do they put the buttons in a ring around the bottom of the phone? Do they think it's a dial? It will make dialing numbers much harder and typing text on that thing will be a horrible experience.

Jason
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Linux already is very rubust and stable. Where it's weak is in how difficult it is to set up to do anything; like set up a printer driver, offload pictures from a digital camera, get samba to work right. It seems like anything you want to do takes days of painful work.

I still use linux on my servers, but that's why I switched back to windows after having linux on my desktop for over 2 years. I can install something in 10 minutes and then be enjoying using it for the next few day. The one time I couldn't get a piece of hardware to work in windows, I just had to call up the hardware vendor and they solved the problem in under an hour. If I were trying to get it to work in Linux, there's nobody to call.

Jason
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If you don't research these technologies the enemy will, and when they attack you with it, you won't have any idea how to defend yourself.

If you understand the technology, you know its weaknesses so you can build a defense.

Jason
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What ever happened to the Sony/Matsushita deal for an open-source solution to all this?

You used Sony and open-source in the same sentance? Thanks for the great laugh. Sony makes MS look like a great proponent of open source, and pro-fair use too.

My reaction to the article was that looks great, but too bad it's based on Sony crap. If this were for the xbox or gamecube, it would be worth getting the console and the software just for the set-top divx player.

Jason
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At least there's the redeeming fact that it's not an MS tablet PC. Of course based on the review, it sounds just as bad.

Jason
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but most do not use any more or any less energy than the equivalent incandescent or incandescent halogen at the same wattage.

That's like saying "what weights more, a pound of feathers or a pound of nails?". Wattage is a measuere of the energy you are using per unit time.

LEDs give off more light for the same power than incandescant bulbs; super-bright LED takes about 15mA at 1.7 volts. That's 25 miliwatts of power. For the same power a 100 watt lightbulb takes, you can power 4,000 super-bright LEDs.

The difference is even more extreme with flashlight bulbs. To get more brightness, the bulbs are run at about 25% higher than the rated voltage. This does make it a lot brighter, but at a bigger penalty for power draw, and cuts the life expectancy down from 1000 to 10 hours.

Jason
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And just how long have you been using Windows?

Oh..Since 1993 or so. I've also been using Linux since 1995. Are you implying that Linux today is no more bloated than it was in 1995? Can I run Linux and a word processer on a 1MHz 6502 CPU? I had the SuperText word processor on my Apple; it had most of the major features a modern word processor has and it would run perfectly on that 6502 under ProDOS.

Jason
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Yes, but the rest of the processing power is to compensate for the extra OS overhead, so you still get the same snappy feel as you did with the II+.

You seem to be under the impression you need a faster processor so you can get things done faster. The real reason is so you can get things done just as fast without regressing :). It's like swimming upstream against a strong current.

Jason
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That doesn't really happen. Microchannel and ED floppies were just flukes :).

Jason
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..to Vialta's piece of crap

Jason
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Well for some people, it might help them get the job :).

Jason
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Then you, my friend, are not the target demographic of the american video game industry.

You'll get no arguement from me there, despite the fact that I do buy a few games a year. I also wait about a month after a movie comes out because I prefer as few people as possible in the theatre, and I don't even understand the "get it first" attitude for new DVDs.

What I was commenting on is that taking away choice is not a benefit. If I don't want to buy the game for a few months, why is having the option taken away a perk?

Jason
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I agree, but that is exactly my point; I can't trust professional reviewers. To get a good, unbiased review, I have to turn to a public forum. So why do the reviewers even exist?

Jason
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So you're saying the game coming out later has advantages? I can wait until the game has been out for a couple of months if I want. Just because it's on the shelves doesn't mean I have to buy it the first week. If my friends buy it and say it's good, then I can buy it right away and not have to wait a few months for it to be available to me. By waiting those few months and letting your friends get lots of extra practice, you'll always lose at multi-player games.

Jason
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I've bought enough computer games over the years that had rave reviews and turned out to be total crap that I don't even read reviews anymore.

Black and White is a recent example. The reviews made it sound like the best game ever made. Then when I played it, I found out the UI is horrible, the gameplay is tedious, and the characters treat you (their god) like a child -- If you eat your vegetables, then you can have Ice Cream.

I just take it for granted now that game reviewers are lying when they say a game is good. Jason
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And I suppose size doesn't matter either...

That's exactly the joke I was making.

Jason
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The technical definition of broadband is going the way of the technical definition of 'hacker'.

So, what are you saying? That we should just let it happen because it's going to anyway? That it's wrong to correct people?

Jason
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It's not how much you have have, it's how you use it.

Broadband means it's a communications channel divided into multiple chunks. Each person on a cablemodem connection uses a different freqency range on the same cable, that makes the cable broadband. The opposite of broadband is baseband, that's where the base comes from in 100BaseT.

If you divide a 2400 baud modem among several users in that way, it can be called broadband too even though each user only have a few hundred bps.

Jason
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That will work in some case. But how do I score out clauses when the document I'm signing says it refers to another document? There's no room to write which clauses I reject. Also, in that case, it was a bank customer service agent I was dealing with. She doesn't have the authority to accept changers or the intelligence to forward it to someone who can. In that case it was a black or white issue; sign as is and get the account or don't sign and don't get it.

Jason
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The PIC microcontrollers are one line of non-von Neumann controllers I use regularly. They're Harvard architecture. I would assume most MCU's are not Von Neumann for the same reason as the PICs, but I only have experience with PICs.

You're definition of von Neumann architecture is wrong; a von Neumann machine has one data bus for connecting with memory. That means it has to share the bus for program and data memory.

As far as I know, a VLIW chip that uses one memory bus is still von Neumann architecture even though it will process several instructions at once.

Jason
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I agree with you, and I do read the contracts. When I was applying to access my bank account online, I was supposed to sign a form saying I'd read and agreed to the terms of service on a separate document. When I asked to see that document, the customer service person looked at me like I was nuts. It took her 10 minutes to find a copy and then I sat there and read the 5 page document. There was a clause that said they are not responsible if someone steals from my account even if it's their own employee acting through their negligence. Basically it gives them the right to take my money any time they want. Of course I refused to sign the agreement and from the reactions of the people there that was the first time it had happened.

I was taking an IT law course at the time, so I took a copy of the contract to school and showed it to the lawyer teaching the course. He said if it went to court, a judge would probably throw the clause out, but it would cost so much to fight it, I'd still lose.

I wonder how many people have signed their life's savings over to their bank like that without even knowing it. Jason
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I use enom.com. I think they charge $30 which is pretty expensive, but my webhost has a deal with them so it's only $10, and then the webhost pays half of that. I haven't seen anywhere that will beat $5 :).

I've heard good things about Go Daddy. I'm considering registering a few names with them for future site ideas I'm think of just to make sure I have them if I need them.

Jason
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You complain about the agreement, but by agreeing to it, you mearly re-enforce that it's okay for them to do it. There are countless registrars out there now. Most will allow you to transfer a domain name for their annual fee and then include a 1 year extension so the transfer is basically free.

By clicking you agree, you're voting with your dollars, and that's all that matters to these companies.

Jason
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I just threw out my punch card reader last week.

Jason

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Yes, of course. I never said the friction was a function of velocity, just that friction can be an equlibrium force for this new force, or friction can be somewhere between zero and equilibrium.

Jason
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The article is very light on facts. Those looked like metal balls, how do I they know it wasn't an electro-static force? Does it work with those foam balls we all used to build model atoms out of? If it does work, all they have is a motor that seems to work in a similar way to any other motor, but with no practical application (because of the frictionless condition).

Jason
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It sounds like they're saying the angular velocity will increase if the rotation is frictionless. Why won't this phenomenon cancel out at equilibrium amount of friction and keep the object spinning at constant angular momentum forever? I should also accelerate an object with a small amount of friction but at a slower rate than a frictionless object.

In any case, we're talking about building a perpetual motion machine here and throwing the first law of thermodymics out the window. This makes the cold fusion claims sound pretty tame. At least they said where they were getting their energy, here it seems to come from nowhere.

Jasom
ProfQuotes

It's a great way to accelerate one of those bicycle-wheel space stations up to speed so they have pseudo-gravity.

Jasom
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Features include full sound support, hi-res video modes (aka VESA modes for those familiar with DOS)

VESA was a local bus architecture before PCI. While it was used for video cards, that has nothing to do with the posible video resolution. I still have old VESA IDE controller.

Jason
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I agree, that sounds like the AOL 1000 free hours ads that are bundled with a lot of products. If the recording industry tried to do this it would feel like spam and I'd be more likely to buy a car that didn't include it. Then again, with the quality of music coming out these days, I think I'd rather read 1000 hours of spam than listen to 1000 hours of new music :).

Jason
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I prefer unCertainty?

We can run the complier on a machine stored in a Klein bottle

Jason
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Not quite. This is more like Boole working out the basic theories of digital logic in the mid-19th century, long before anyone thought of digital computers.

Jason
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I'll tell you one thing, my friends who can weld have jobs right now, and I'm working phone tech support.

I agree with you. I thought it was a stupid idea when they got rid of the tech courses and I still do. I value what I learned in auto mechanics a lot more than my practice using a flatbed scanner.

Jason
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I'm surprised to hear high schools have equipment like a CNC. When I was in HS, the most advanced equipment our metal shop had was a bandsaw and lathe. I didn't even know a CNC existed until University. While I was there, they shut down all the tech labs and replaced them with computer labs to offer courses like "aldus pagemaker" and "corel draw". I thought it was an incredibly stupid thing to do.

I didn't know high schools still had any tech equipment at all.

Jason
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Chemistry is taught, it's just that most people are too stupid to understand much beyond "acids disolve things". I'm sure the idiot who posted an earlier reply to the parent saying salt is NaCl would be shocked to learn that vinegar and vitamin C are both acids.

Jason
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Pro: Apply a photo-resist chemical to the entire board, you then project your board design onto the PCB using a special projector (Think this is UV, but can't remember), The board is then emmersed in a developer solution, which combines with the "photo-resist" where the light touched the board, to form a "resist" chemical.

Can you still get the photo-resist chemical? I used to buy the MG Chemicals positive photo-resist, but they don't seem to make it anymore. They just sell the pre-treated boards.

I'm not complaining too much since the green colouring on the pre-treated boards makes them a lot easier to work with, but it was a lot cheaper to coat the boards myself, especially since I'd get surplus board at supremetronic.

Jason
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What would be perfect is if there were places where you could rent time on a CNC mill, sort of like kinko's for engineers.

I make about 20 PCBs a year (with FeCl3 etching). It would be nice to just go into the store CD and blank copper clad board in hand and rent the machine for an hour for $50-$100 and make 5 boards.

Since the boards are generally all different or at most 2 copies of a single one, I can't justify spending $80 for each board at a place like PCB express. This is just a hobby after all :).

Jason
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Yeah, and America has a lot of experience making clean, logical laws governing electronics

Jason

ProfQuotes

The law did say it was a felony to violate. Since it covers things that are so integral to modern life that everyone does it, just prove that the legislators themselves are violating the law and then have large numbers of people file complaints with the state attorney general's office. Once the legislators have felony convictions they will be ineligible to hold public office.

Jason
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I simply can't fathom how a law this monomentally stupid has been passed... but it's got to be challenged. A mass protest would certainly expedite it and might prevent similar laws from being passed in other states where they're being considered.

Um...I know you said you're in Europe, but you have heard of the DMCA, haven't you? :).

Jason
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If you use Red Hat 4.2, you have the full source to your OS which you can patch and upgrade to your heart's content. Also, Red Hat is not an operating system, it's a distribution. There's no reason you can't throw kernel 2.4.25 onto RH 4.2.

I'm not saying MS should be required to patch all their OS's until the end of time for free. They just should not force their product into an end-of-life just to make people pay for the right to enter into a more draconian licensing agreement and break all their custom legacy code that will cost a fortune to repair. It might even be cheaper to pay RH to patch their 4.2 than re-write all the old code. The point is you have that option.

If MS releases well documented source code for NT 4 as well as a free complie environment, I will withdraw my complaint. Until then, MS deserves to die for this.

Jason
ProfQuotes

Isn't this the same place we read about the person who put his PDA in the oven to dry it?

Solder melts at around 350 degrees, the maximum storage temperature for ICs is around 140 degrees F, and 200 for mil spec chips. Heating the whole board and components to 350 for long enough for the solder to melt will destroy the chips.

Jason
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If you use windows NT, your choice is now pay for the next version of windows or live with the hole. Some companies still use NT because they have custom mission critical software that will not work on a newer OS, and some companies still find (found?) that NT 4 met their needs and there was no need to undergo the expense and re-training effort to upgrade.

If the average user had half a brain, they'd see why this is proof that using MS software is too dangerous for their company. I refuse to use XP because of the activation, but I have to use win2k to get along with my clients. What happens when MS says it's time to force everyone off win2k?

Jason
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"This product is enhanced to work in a trusted comping environment" (Along with a $5 price increase for the enhancement).

Jason
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Until MS finds out and re-writes the EULA to charge per row and retro-actively bills the FBI for $20 billion.

Jason
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What do you mean what about it? It's still going on. I book marked it when slashdot had the original article about it. It's right here.

Jason
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