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What you are facing is probably not only ignorance, but a common reaction against a new form/medium that all new "art forms" have experienced in their times. It is akin to the mocking photography received in its early days before it too became "fine art".

Tragically, you will probably end up dead before such recognition takes place, but perhaps you won't, given the rate at which computers (and the graphics they can show) are pervading society at an ever increasing rate.

Computers provide something not many other "fine arts" can - interactivity. Especially in the graphics arena. Simply creating a graphic, sending it to a printer, or photo print system, or projecting it as a still, or similar - is fine, but it doesn't truely allow for what the computer excels at. If you use the machine as a tool, find out how to interact with it differently, so that the creation of the final art, while computer generated, also has that "touch" of the artist (here is an idea - create a system by which you control a CNC milling machine on a block of steel with a computer, through which you interact and guide the system via a funky Theremin-like interface - even the act of creation could be viewed as performance art). Or, allow the audience "viewing" the "work" to cause the work to change over time, given guidelines by you, the artist (hmm - how about this, think of an audience surrounding a large, deep box, which has sand, or some other material in it, a grid of tubes, and a computer controlled pneumatic system, that would cause the sand to "bubble" and such based on audience "sound" and "motion" input - perhaps taken via video feeds).

Artists have done this kind of art before with computers - I don't think you will get very far though with straight graphic designs, but I wouldn't consider it impossible. Perhaps you could back project the images onto a dome, or somehow immerse the audience in the work (the presentation of the art can be as important as the art itself - sometimes the presentation is the art!)...

Maybe I should have become an artist...

Then again, maybe I don't know jack about art, and you should ignore me?

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

I should've said "in addition to the physical hardware based button".

Truth be told, I would probably never use these software solutions - rarely do I used a software disk eject feature, instead leaning over to hit the "eject" button (floppy, CD-ROM, Zip drive - of course, these last two are software controlled in some way, as you alude to).

However, I can see some people wanting a software disk ejection mechanism, and for those, what I outlined is more intuitive in that regard.

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

This sounds OK, but still isn't as intuitive. If you have an icon that represents a floppy (or some other removable media) drive, I can think of a few ways to intuitively eject the disk:

1. A "button" on the icon that looks like an eject button - click on it to eject the disk.
2. Drag the icon off the screen (preferably the bottom) to eject.
3. Maybe an "Open Door" type icon, showing "exitability"?

These are just my three suggestions - I am sure there are other ideas...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Admittedly, it is only a theory, but it seems to have more weight to it than using kites...

I have a book (unfortunately, not nearby, so I can't quote the title and such - maybe I will follow up later with a reply) detailing how the blocks used in the construction of Egyptian monuments could have been cast, in situ.

The author of the book is an inventor who developed a type of concrete that looks and "works" like natural stone - in fact, comparing it with the blocks used in the pyramids, he found the compositions nearly identical. He then goes on to find local (to Egypt) sources of the chemicals and materials needed for this special "concrete", then uses those materials to perform experiments to cast blocks from the resulting mix (mixing the material and casting blocks).

To me, this idea seems to have the most weight, especially given the evidence the author presented. This doesn't mean that this had to be the way, but it makes a lot of sense...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

So you are for indentured servitude?

In any case, unless this employer is forcing me into slavery, yes, my freedom is perfectly intact -- because I choose whether to participate or not.

No - once you are bound by the leash or by chains, you would become my "bitch" - you would have lost your freedom of choice, because at that point you would be under my control.

Or maybe you didn't understand my "proposal" - when I said leash - I meant a physical leash, made of steel, with a chain anchored to it - perhaps locked to the desk, while I sat nearby, watching your every move. Whoops! You made a mistake - "bitch slap"! Bad sl... I mean... worker!

Do you still maintain that you are free - I hold the key to the lock, after all...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Funny how we all know about it.

We are not typical consumers - even people who buy boards to do their own upgrades may not know about it if they aren't reading the fine print, or staying up on the issues. Most just want to upgrade to play the latest game or whatnot...

The answer is because competition drives prices down, with a floor at the cost of production. If you have more revenues coming in, then that reduces the overall cost of production, and thus there is more room to reduce prices to undercut your competitors.

This assumes something though - that the consumers are aware of the monitoring aspect and are willing to have it monitor them. If the consumer goes along with all of this, and likes it, and others do as well, then I could see this happening - but I doubt the box is going to say on the side "Spies on all of your habits in exchange for a lower price!". It will do it secretly - and the extra stuff will appear to be "magic" to the oridinary consumer (they tend to be sheep). If they came right out and said what it does, I tend to doubt people would really want it...

Second, yes, there are people who would be willing to have details of their lives reported in exchange for money.

Why not just "sell" themselves into slavery? What you say is true, and is disturbing to think about - that money should be above privacy to some people. Doesn't that disturb you? If it doesn't, it should.

The supermarkets pay you for the ability to track your purchases. Don't want to participate? Fine, then don't. But I have absolutely no problem with being paid for this.

I take it when you mean "paid", you mean "getting lower prices" - the truth of the matter is in how these cards really work. The savings aren't really there if the prices are raised a bit beforehand. Or, if the products you buy aren't the "typical" ones, the ones that are already high-priced to begin with. Furthermore, some stores give you the savings even if you don't use the card, so what is the card really for?

And what's so ironic is that you people like you who talk on and on about freedom are the first people who say that I should NOT have the freedom to decide whether I want to be tracked or not.

Why would you want to be tracked? For a small monetary gain (if any)? I can think of advantages of tracking, but the risks far outweigh the gains, especially since the system would never be open enough for the plebes to watch Big Brother. Who watches the watchers, huh? Sure the hell won't be you or me...

Right -- as long as you are the one controlling what freedoms people have.

Gah! I can't understand why you don't understand that being monitored isn't freedom! Think of it this way:

Let us suppose I am your employer. I give you a choice (to freely make) to place a leash around your neck, so that I may track what you do during the day, while you are in my employ. I tell you in exchange for this, I will give you double your salary. You are saying you would take this deal, freely - yet I control the leash. Are you now more free?

Somehow, you argue that you are...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

That's simply absurd. While I don't think it was a particularly good idea, there is nothing "unethical" about this at all. If the consumer doesn't want it, then the consumer won't buy it. This is not about some secret society spying on people.

The fact is that the idea is being foisted on a group of people who may be unaware that the system is capable of doing such a thing. If the consumer doesn't know about it, then they are unable to make a choice not to buy it. Your friend had to know this, yet went ahead and pitched the idea to be created anyhow - probably thinking "Yeah, more money for me!", rather than taking the high road (and not disclosing his idea to his employer).

The fact of the matter is that alternate revenue streams would serve to drive down the costs of PCs. If someone wanted the lower end PC that was subsidized by this, then it would be their choice.

We both know this is a lie. Such schemes won't drive the cost of PCs down, but rather keep them the same, and increase profits - it is all about money, and "Damn the citizen!"...

In fact, who are you to decide what people should or shouldn't have?

I am a person who knows that the nature of man is to be free, yet corporations and government continue to build chains to enslave and control. Do you honestly think people want their computers reporting details contained on their hard drives back to some "anonymous authority"? You may say it is only relevant details, but the individual doesn't know this - they can't see source code, and I doubt many know how to use packet sniffer/logging programs to analyze data coming out the backend. Do you honestly think people want another entity looking over their shoulders? If society honestly wants this, then we are far, far down the slope - and we might as well strip to the skin and be bonded in chains, because that is what the situation would be.

Something tells me you don't have too many friends.

The friends I do have are those who oppose corporate and government tyranny and control such as this. The friends I have know about freedom and rights.

Something tells me your friends would backstab you and society for a buck, grinning all the way to the bank...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Instead of grinning...

I would have stood up, told him that he could stick his idea where the sun didn't shine, that you were personally never going to buy a machine with the Award BIOS in it, and would recommend the same to friends, and why, and that as of that moment, your friendship was dissolved, and if he couldn't understand why, then that was reason enough.

Your "friend" has created an idea that essentially allows remote monitoring and control of other citizens' property and habits. This is morally repugnant, and unethical, to say the least. People who dream up such stuff should be stuffed back into the holes from whence they came...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

I want to use GNUCash to replace Checkfree's old Windows software - that software is the only thing keeping me using a Windows box - in fact, this is very nearly the _only_ thing I boot my Windows box for (maybe the rarely occasional game).

I have the old Checkfree software (the have since switched to MSMoney as being the default application) for bill payment for several years now. It has everything I need - simple reports, a check register, and bill payment. I have tried to think of a different system to use, but all such systems come down to a double entry style affair (since most involve some web-based bill payment system), which can be fraught with errors during data entry.

I want a system where I can enter all my transactions, electronic bill payments, checks, deposits - and then at the end of the month reconcile my bank statement/balance - like I do with the Checkfree software. GNUCash comes close (it does most everything, except the electronic bill payment)...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

My cable modem service is just fine, D/L wise. What I want is the ability to run servers (legally). I want to publish, damnit (on my own machines - sure, Hurricane Electric is a nice hosting company, but I would rather have the DNS pointing to my server, rather than someone else's - and I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for the "privilege")...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

The arbitrariness (is that a word?) of it all is most frustrating - the fact is I have had several "Ask /.'s" posted before. The one about Thumbscript I decided to post about immediately after seeing it in the new copy of Nuts and Volts (June 2001) - I had received it the day I posted it. I found it most interesting because of the "terms" the inventor held out regarding licensing for hobbiest use. Very fair, IMO, and unusual. I decided to post it as an article - maybe I picked the wrong topic/area (and if I did, why couldn't they just change it to something more appropriate? Are they editors, or monkeys?)...

I am rather suprised that a story wasn't posted sooner than it was - I just can't figure it out...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

To at least attempt to keep this comment somewhat on topic:

Regarding Thumbscript - while it is patented, the developer has been kind enough to allow for hobbiest type licensing, which you have to sign up for, allowing you to develop thumbscript applications that will have no immediate commercial bearing. The license is currently free. Since there is no proprietary hardware involved, and no proprietary software involved, what you are basically licensing is the input method, not anything else. I consider this a fair thing of the inventor to have done.

And now, the rant:

I knew a Thumbscript link would show up sooner or later! I posted a story on it not too long ago, yet it was rejected:

2001-06-10 06:14:09 Graffiti Alternative? (developers,pilot) (rejected)

Why? Not too long after (the next fscking day!), I posted a comment on the wearables story about Thumbscript!

This is crazy! While I understand that the posters pick and choose stories based on their daily whims, I tend to wonder what those whims are? I tend to wonder why certain stories are rejected, while others (especially in the Ask Slashdot section) are accepted? Why is it that an Ask /. story that can easily be answered by a query on Google gets accepted (time after time), while a more relevant link to something else gets rejected? Worst of all, the submitter never gets to know why it was rejected, so he can never alter his writing style, or know what to do differently, the next time he posts...

It is frustrating to say the least...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Not to mention exchanging all sorts of other data about the cars - think about it, black boxes, etc could be incorporated to tell who did what when, and how each driver reacted, giving more evidence for the insurance companies and cops to hash over, in addition to any witnesses who (oh so rarely) happened to stop (as a witness for several accidents, I have seen people blatently lie about what happened, especially if they are the ones in the wrong. It pisses me off)...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

First off, thank you for posting this - access to such information is a rarity, to say the least. I enjoy reading such old texts, and this is one that is going to keep me coming back, for certain. I oftentimes find humor in such texts - such as:

Notice how in the beginning, it notes that basically the manual isn't an "encyclopedic reference"?

Then you turn to page 13 "Introduction to Computer Operations" - and are given a lesson over the next 40 odd pages on what basically amounts to how to build a damn computer, starting with basic digital circuits and going from there! In fact, the rest of the manual reads the exact same way!

It would be like opening the glovebox in your new car, pulling out the manual, it reading simply, then the rest of the 100 odd pages being a Chilton's or Hayne's!!! Hahahahah!

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

I currently run a SuSE 6.3 system with a 2.2.14 patched kernel (from standard 6.3 2.2.13 kernel). I have whatever version of X was included (3 something, probably), and use KDE 1.3.

I have thought about going to X 4.x, and KDE 2.x - but as I am still shakey about breaking my system (it was a bitch doing the kernel patch - just to get the ZIP drive working, only then breaking the sound, having to install and configure ALSA, etc) - everything runs OK on it right now. I just would like to get some of the extra features.

Has anybody done anything like this, and what was your experiences? How difficult would such a major upgrade be? Would I have to patch the kernel again (one thing I have wondered is if I could just grab the latest patch for the kernel and apply it against my source, or if you have to do the patches incrementally - or if I would just have to grab the whole source, etc)?

Or, should I do what I am thinking of doing - scrap it all, get a reasonably late distro, install that and move my data over?

Any recommendations?

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

I will probably be modded down heavily for saying this...

There is a reason why BASIC is called BASIC - it stands for Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code.

Originally designed at Dartmouth College as a teaching language in the 1960's, it is still a language that can truely teach the fundamentals of coding.

I am not talking about QBasic, or QuickBasic, or even VB - but standard ANSI Basic. For a course, I would recommend using Bywater BASIC.

Don't teach line numbers, or GOTO, but do teach how to handle possible errors, and good code formating, as well as proper commenting and code documentation. Most programming concepts can be taught using such a BASIC implementation.

Later, after students have caught on, you can go back a little and tell them about GOTO, and why it is bad - as well as why it can be good (very few people know examples of good uses of GOTO - I have seen only a few myself - but yeah, I know it is possible to write code without ever using a GOTO).

After that, teach a more structured language - Pascal comes to mind. Then move to C, then C++, then Java...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

But the EV1 sucks as far as being safe, at least in my book.

Think about it - it uses lead-acid batteries - they are stacked nearly everywhere there is a bit of room - a line even runs down the center of the vehicle.

So, if you don't mind being splashed with sulpheric acid in an accident...

Furthermore, these batteries (all rechargable batteries) have to vent gases. Many times (esp in the case of lead acid batteries), these fumes are corrosive, and smell real bad. If proper venting to the air isn't done right, those fumes are going to end up in the cab of the car...

I have heard that the EV1 has this problem. I don't believe the EV1 uses gel-cells either, but regular style car batteries (they may be deep-cycle as well, but pretty much liquid based).

There are many better examples of electric cars out there other than the EV1...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

That I was born when I was born, and had my computer when I did...

I mean, my parents didn't know anything about it. My dad tried to learn programming with me - but I eventually outpaced him in a few weeks (I do remember playing video games with him - oh the days of going one on one with pops)...

Anyhow, when I was 13 I got my first modem, and started making connections with other people - full on strangers, most of them adults! Also connections with other machines as well...

As I grew older, I learned to download various images - which were - ahem - not exactly the cleanest of material. I remember gaining access to various hacker and bomb making texts, and reading them - even to the point of taking them with me to school to read over more. I remember coding as soon as I got home from school, and doing so until I fell asleep at night...

On the weekend, more time on the computer. My parents were nearly oblivious, though they encouraged me to go outside more, they never physically barred me access to my machine, unless I got bad grades (talk about withdrawal!). If I wasn't on the computer, I was reading, or doing something equally "geeky".

Oh, I almost forgot - the people and machines? BBS's... Images - Mac PICT files and Atari ST images, among others... Programming in BASIC, playin' Asteroids and Missle Command on my Atari 2600 with dad... Hacker and Bomb texts courtesy of MetalShop BBS (among others)... My computer - a TRS-80 Color Computer 2 with 64K and a 300 baud modem - ah, the 80's...

The question in my mind is - where would I be today if my parents were as worried about me then (about "online" activity) as parents are worried today. I am not saying it is the same, but I wonder how this is affecting kids...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

I noticed that he redesigned the whole thing too, recently - after getting a lot of email from "rocket scientists". I know I sent him at least a couple of emails, and I am sure others did as well. BTW - IANARS!!!

But, perhaps what this shows is that we can have an effect on the Rocket Guy's plans - so maybe we should start sending him other ideas as well - maybe it can be a "group guided" effort, hmm?

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

I, like most others, use "improper form" when typing. From what I remember of my typing class from hell in 7th grade, "proper form" consisted of raising the wrists/forearms above the level of the keyboard, so that you fingers pushed down from above, rather than "stretching" to the keys.

This does seem ideal, however, it is tiring - and we are all lazy here. It is tiring holding your arms up at that position. Building a wrist rest to that height wouldn't help matters any, because more pressure would be placed on the carpal region.

What if, instead of that, the keyboard was angled more sharply at the rear, so that the "pushing" of the keys came back and the "stretching" to the keys was lessoned - a wrist rest could still be used, but the stretching would be minimized - maybe that would help more?

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

This seems relevant to this discussion, so I am putting it out, taking a risk that I might be modded down, but who cares, right?

Check out Thumbscript, an alternative to Grafitti and possibbly twiddlers, as well...

Oh, and BTW, if this (talking about Thumbscript) becomes a story in a few days, I am going to be REALLY pissed at whoever rejected my submission!

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

$20.00? Go on eBay - you can regularly find them on there going for $10.00 and less. Aura also used to make chair "pads" that had the bass shakers in them - used the same amp as the Interactor, but was a pad shaped thing that could be moved from chair to chair, so it was less something to wear, and more for PC game playing.

Want something more? Look into Aura Bass Shakers - these were devices that you would bolt to whatever you wanted to shake (underside of chair, floor, etc), to get ultra low sub-sonic shaking. They made two models, one a low cost 25 watt device (and believe me, they put out a lot of force!), the other could handle much more (75 or 100 watts). These kind of things you bolt to the concrete of your home theater room, so that when an earthquake hits on-screen, things really start to fall.

Other companies manufacture bass shakers - most are bought by movie theater chains for the rumble system (in addition to large subs for sonic level frequencies), and tend to be expensive. Aura made ones that were affordable by the average folk...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Why does everyone put down VB programmers? I thought the lot of you were open minded individuals? Have any of you actually used VB? I am not saying it is a be-all/end-all of languages - it isn't. I am not saying Microsoft is the god of computers - they aren't (now, the demon). However, they have taken a language, and made it very easy to develop powerful applications in a fraction of the time it would normally take to develop such programs. Full drag-and-drop GUI building. Nothing anywhere else (ok, actually there are a few - I will get to those later) comes close. Drop in some Visual C and a decent database via ODBC, and some serious shit can be built - provided it is done methodically and planned.

Any language can be bastardized - any program can be a crock of shit when looked at underneath - no matter the language used. It is the programmers and team that determine how well the system is put together. I have no doubt that well built systems can come out of using VB, give competent developers.

With that out of the way, what are your options?

Well, if you have to have an IDE, and you want the ease of BASIC, you might look into XBasic. If you are willing to give Java a go, get one helluva powerful computer and download the SDK and a copy of Forte CE - you will be pleasantly surprised (I liked it, except the machine I tried it out on at the time was too slow, and didn't have enough RAM, so it kept paging to disk for simple tasks, like opening up menus and such - blame that on Swing? - I dunno for sure if that was it, but something made it really slow - but the fastjavac compiler is great - Forte is VB for Java, certainly).

If you really want to try something, give up on an IDE - grab a copy of NEdit, and start playing with Perl or Python (and if game coding is something you enjoy, PyGame looks real inviting). As another poster said, *nix is the IDE - a lot of neat things can come from the command line - a few term sessions, a copy of NEdit, and you are good to go. Actually, even using Java sans IDE (like Forte) isn't that bad - it actually makes you think about the GUI you are designing when you can't see it, when using Swing (and please, use Swing if you can, and not straight AWT).

Anyhow, that is my recommendations...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

How about "Programmer Extradordinaire of Networks" - PEON for short?

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Instead of sending these subs filled with humans (big insurance risk, plus as others have noted, the subs can't get close, and visibility is limited), what if you set up "simulator" pods, that look like the interior of a sub, with "infinite distance" projection systems, and place small remote-controlled subs with video cameras feeding the image back to the projector. Add proper lights, etc to keep the tourist entertained, maybe even pipe in sound. Make the subs wired back to a support raft/barge (using some communication cable/link system - 100baseT ethernet would work fine), not radio (doesn't work that well under water).

Heck, this could be done as cheap or as expensive as you want - on the cheap end you could build these machines out of sewer pipe and such (don't believe me? Look up "radio controlled submarine howto" on google), or as expensive as using one of the various underwater exploration systems out there...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

You go get yourself a ProntoMail address right now, and set up a few hotmail, and yahoo mail address (and any other free addresses), using that ProntoMail address as a mailback address (if the other services need it). Then, keep checking those new anon mail accounts every now and then to keep them active.

Right now, I have about six of these accounts, and when I feel like it, I create others. I don't do this because I need them today - I don't. I do this in case I need them tommorow...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

AFAIK, study and implementation of a patented device is legal, provided one doesn't try to distribute the resulting device. This is because in order to improve upon a patented device, if the device doesn't exist in a distributed form, you, as an inventor or researcher seeking to improve upon the prior art, must be able to build a device upon which to study and improve. That is what a patent is for, anyhow - to give away the details so that someone can build the device from the patent in order to study and improve upon it, furthering the pursuit (and possibly even gaining a patent in the quest)...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

OK, first off, I want to make it clear that I am talkin' out my ass...

I didn't read the article - but from the comments, I understand that there isn't fiber optics in the cable, and that it is fiber reinforcment, blah blah - and maybe fiber alongside in some installations.

However...

Upon seeing the blurb on /. - I first thought - sending power down fiber optic cable (ie, using a multi megawatt laser pumping the fiber), and modulating the beam with data packets.

At the home end - you would need some kind of light to electric converter (like a solar cell, only able to stand the load), and then tap the datastream off the modulated beam.

Ok, so this isn't what is going on - but do any of you see the idea? Would this even be possible? Something tells me that currently it wouldn't be at all practical, if it is possible to some degree. But the idea seems like a fantastic (if unworkable) use of fiber optics - to "carry" electricity and data at the same time...

Ok, I'll stop toking now...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

First off, ditch the idea of using one of those "water cooling" kits - while it sounds good at first glance, they are only meant to move heat away from the CPU, and drop the CPU temp to ambient (as other posters have noted). More experienced (and brave) OC'ers have used them to move the heat away quickly from a TEC cooler (thermoelectric peltier module) - to really drop the temperature - and this is what you want to do, really. So...

First off, get a TEC heatsink system - cheap. I am going to be a nice guy and do your research for you, since you are a photo geek, and not an electronics one, probably (maybe you are - some photo geeks are greatly into the electronics side of things as well). So, first - purchase one of these - All Electronics is a good company and I have never had a problem with an order through them.

Now, the heat sink would go on the outside of your holding tank of water (for a holding tank, use a large plastic drink cooler or something similar - or some kind of larger metal container - if metal, though, insulate it after attaching the TEC). The heatsink on this device that All Electronics sells is on the hot side. The smaller metal side is the cold side of the TEC. These units were originally meant for refrigerator coolers (in fact, if you wanted to spend a little money, you could go this route as well). You might want to mount a heatsink on the cold side (AKA a coldsink) as well, to increase the surface area of it to the water. Remember to seal the area around the holes on the tank with a good amount of silicone glue (aquarium sealant) to prevent leaks.

Now, you might find you can do without a thermostat - how? The TEC runs on about 5 to 14 VDC - and it should be pre-wired correctly for hot/cold side (call All Electronics and ask - they might even give you a data sheet or something - back of napkin type drawing) as shown in the photo - hot side on the heatsink, cold on the bare plate - but who knows, it may be reversed...

If you use a metal container for the water, you could make the metal container be the coldsink side, instead of a seperate heatsink. Now, since the voltage can be varied to run the cooler, you can select a temperature range (actually, you would be varying the input/output of the TEC) to run at. If you mount the TEC near the bottom of the container, convection may help you - or get a circulation pump (like a small fountain pump). Also, add a couple of fans to the hot side heatsink, to increase the amount of heat it can pump away - you may want to vector this heat to the outside of your darkroom (don't want your darkroom to get hot and raise the ambient temp). Or, if fans aren't enough, use a water block and water cooling through a radiator (in effect, doing partially what you originally intended, with the added addition of the peltier - however, it might be more trouble than it is worth)...

Put a thermometer in the tank, turn on the TEC to max voltage (hook it up to 12 volts, through a potentiometer or rheostat, to vary the voltage) (and optionally the circulation pump), and wait a few hours. Check the temperature - too cold? Lower the voltage of the TEC, check the temp again. Keep doing this until the needed temp is arrived at. You should be able to achieve up to a 20 degree drop in temp on the water this way. After you have gotten the temperature of the water where you want it, then leave the potentiometer/rheostat at that setting and check it again every day over a week, and note what the fluctuation is - if there is any. There may or may not be - and if there is, it may be fluctuating with the room temp, etc - but if you keep that constant, the water temp should be pretty constant as well.

If you need a thermostat, I believe Radio Shack (and others) sells an electronic one (RS Cat #910-4922 and temp probe 910-4917) that can switch a relay on and off at a set temperature. You can then use this relay to control the TEC.

I hope this helps - you should be able to do it all for less than $100.00 if you shop smart. If you need help with the electronics, ask around - maybe a friend or someone else can get it hooked up...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Despite the shit Fuji has pulled on fan sites...

Anyhow, I love the show - I cringe at the thought of an American version, and it sucks that it doesn't run anymore. I can only imagine it will end up being something like "Ready...Set...Cook!" - which sucked, but they did kinda the same deal - give a couple of good chefs a funky item to cook with, and off they go - but the set was very cheesy, and the announcer - well, she sucked (and not in a good way).

Anyone know what the Iron Chef theme music is, and where (or if) you can purchase/download the theme?

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

AGE is the parent of Essential Reality, and is a licensee of the VPL idea of a glove input device - and thus no violations have occurred because Essential Reality is in essence AGE, correct?

If that is correct, then it answers my question...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Want to know more about homebrew VR (and in turn, hooking up the Powerglove, and building your own glove device) than you can stand?

Click here...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

I am not talking today, or even 10 years out. I think the convergence will happen farther out - 25 to 50 years. I hope I am wrong. I realize the massive amount of power that it would take to do even a semi-realistic movie in real time isn't there yet. But one thing is driving the movie studios toward it:

Right now they have to pay big bucks for the "stars", and they don't have any real control over them.

Studios would rather pocket that money, or use it for the film - imagine a film that grosses 100 mil - would a studio rather pay 25 mil to make it today with live actors, or pay only 5 mil for a machinima type film that looks just as good, and pocket the rest as profit?

No, it isn't possible today, and it will be a long time coming - but someday it will happen. We can already do very realistic films using computer animation non-realtime. It is only a matter of time before we can do them real-time. 15 years ago I would have laughed at you had you said in 15 years we would be able to play games that look as good or better than the graphics of "The Last Starfighter" or "Tron" - on home computers no less. Yet today, here we are!

As far as voice generation - where have you been? I had a voice synthesizer on my TRS-80 CoCo back in 1985, with a voice recognizable, even though it was machine-like, in real time.

The Kurzweil Reading Machine has a better voice, and it has been around for 20 years or so. The Sound Blaster use to have voice synth software that wasn't that bad. The best I have heard from today has been Festival - which is quite natural sounding (but still not perfect).

When you say the voices for a movie takes 2 days - you mean for an animated film - for an actual movie, it takes as long as it takes to get each scene right, meaning numerous takes and cuts for each scene. With a machinima type film, you would just lay the words down from the script, and only have to worry about how the actor agents are moving the 3D models, etc - this could make for films that look as good as todays, to only take a few months for production, rather than many months or years for most mega-buck films...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Huh?

Movie studios don't send out projectors right now - what makes you think they would for this kind of thing? Each theater would simply have a high end digital projector and massive (by todays standards, if it could be done) computer in the projection room (heck, maybe by the time this comes about there won't be such things as projectors, the screen might simply be a large OLED display).

As far as identifying with "stars" - I see your point. The sad part is so many people believe the stars are the people they play - when in reality the "stars" aren't much different from you or me, and many times are nothing like the characters they play... Pathetic, really...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Think about it - what would the movie studios like more than anything?

Um - how about talent they control - and that they don't have to pay?

Certainly, the tech isn't there today - I don't have any trends (actually, even Machinima hasn't caught on greatly) - I am envisioning something happening many years into the future - I am thinking around 25-50 years away, not next year, or five years from now.

The whole thing about it being real time is that it could be manipulated in real time for the market - instead of sending out a ton of reels, you send out data files, and the data would say how to move the mouth and such, voices, sound, etc - for whatever language you need for the market - no dubbing, reprinting, anything needed - just select the language and go.

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

How did they get around the VPL/Mattell patents?

For those that don't know, VPL made the VPL DataGlove, back in the early 90's. They also worked with Mattel to create the Nintendo PowerGlove. Unfortunately, their patent on using a glove-type input device kinda locked everything up - very few ways around the patent have ever been found. Most alternative glove input methods have been either klunky (one is a very intricate mechanical waldo like device that is fitted to the hand and uses hall-effect sensors to gauge the angle of the joints - very accurrate, but also hard to put on and take off, and expensive - not that the VPL DataGlove was cheap), or focused on other methods (such as detecting fingers touching together, rather than finger angles).

The only thing I can figure is that they either bought the patent rights, or are licensing them. Either way, I would much rather see a glove based on the fiber optic technology of VPL, rather than the flexible stress sensors the PowerGlove uses (and it does look like that is what they are using)...

If anyone wants more info on glove devices, etc for VR and such (PowerGlove interfacing to PC, etc), check out my website...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Because HTTP is a stateless protocol. When using CGI, there are only a few ways you can maintain state information about a user on a site, in order to allow login tracking, etc - cookies are one way (/. and k5 use this - many, many other sites do as well), URL decoration is another (though less "secure" - but both can be made more secure using HTTPS if needed). There is a third - can't think of it offhand.

Anyhow, the fact is that for interactive sites, we have to be able to preserve state information, if for nothing else the ability to know which user is which, when they last logged in (and to prompt them to relogin if needed), etc. This in and of itself isn't a problem, IMO - I don't mind if a site knows how often I visit them or when.

The problem is when those sites start sharing info about where the users are going (ie, sharing info you don't want shared without telling you, or allowing you a way to opt-in/out of that plan), or tracking via ad banner cookies (same thing, except it is one company doing it, via their ads). Another possible issue is cookie stealing - that is, one company looking into the contents of another company's cookie - without the company or the user's knowledge.

What we need is either a state-based HTTP type protocol (ie, move away from stateless), or another manner of handling cookies. The first idea probably isn't possible or realistic - there are probably too many reasons not to do it (performance and bandwidth usage being the primary ones). The second is possible, at least for new browsers.

Cookies could set by IP, or something, and only other servers with that same IP (or by a masked range, set by the user?) could access that cookie. It is almost like that now. Other mods could be made to allow easy user management of cookies, as well. Perhaps force the setting and reading of cookies via https, so that only the issuing source can read the cookies? There are probably a ton of other changes to the system, probably even a few legalistic ones (or apply current laws the way they should be, if they apply).

Web Bugs (1x1 GIFs) are harder to stop - but a browser could be made to identify "possible" web bugs, and allow the user to set the browser to eliminate, expand or highlight possible web bugs on the page - even allow the user to click on a possible bug to see the code or CGI query behind it. While this wouldn't eliminate the problem, it would go a long way toward helping...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Pre-rendered movies are on their way out...

Machinima, projected real-time via a backroom server (using datafiles d/l'd or streamed from the net) onto the screen by an HDTV projection system, will take their place - it is even possible that such movies might take over the roles conventional movies fill.

Square has shown the level of realism a computer generated movie can take on - but what happens when you can generate it real-time, rather than pre-rendered?

Sure, you still need the voice actors - but with speech synthesis rapidly becoming very realistic - I can imagine a time when voice acting will go away for these type movies, and that dubbing will be a thing of the past - voice synthesis would just use another data file, after all.

Would voice acting transition to "phoeneme" (sp?) acting?

It isn't here now (outside of amateur efforts), but when it hits - it will be like the transition from silent films to talkies...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Interesting - combining tile based games with a 3D engine to render the map. At one time I was pretty heavy into game coding, then I stopped - hopefully one day I will try my hand at it again.

BTW, what engine are you guys using for the 3D - licensed, free (and/or open source) or homebrew?

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Something I forgot to think about...

Perhaps we should look to history for a solution to this problem - what happened when telegrams needed to be sent to a city/town that had had the track abandoned leading to the town (and consequently, the telegraph, which was invariably part of the rail system)?

I guess one could argue that without the rail line, the town turned to "dust" and "blew away"...

How did we get where we are now with phones? Is everything going through those fibers next to railroad tracks? What about when it was copper based long distance - same deal (buried copper next to the lines)?

Are there already people who got rid of the abandoned rails, cleared the land, built a sub-division over it all - only now, lurking beneath the surface is a tangle of copper cable carrying (some) phone conversations?

Interesting, indeed...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

These people want to be paid because the fiber was laid alongside of tracks, in ditches - "subsurface" - which is not stated as part of the rights originally sold to the railroad companies by the owners, only "surface" rights.

Had the railroads and telcos thought of this originally, they could have laid the fiber in pipes along the track, or up on poles, or something similar - and been in the clear, legally.

But what constitutes "surface" vs. "subsurface"? Is an inch below the ground on the surface, or the subsurface? A foot? Three feet? Since the railroads laid the tracks, and needed to install telegraph/switching equipment, which meant putting in poles - they had to dig down several feet for those poles - is that "subsurface" use, and thus the owners of the land should be paid for poles put in the ground? Sure, the poles are many feet apart - but what if they were only a couple of feet apart - is that a "subsurface" ditch, or just many "holes"?

These people are just money hungry - the ditches are generally dug in the surface or between the service road for the railway and the track itself - and not very deep, either (2-4 feet, IIRC). If these property owners were smart, they would just do the "fiber to my house" plan in exchange for the new use of the property.

Plus, as a mind exercise, couldn't you just think of the fiber as a high speed mail train, with the packets of information being cars on the train and... Ah, nevermind...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Have more than one computer...

Seriously - this is the cheapest solution you are going to find.

Don't try to do everything with one box, have multiple boxes - set up a file server, with lots of disk space, and maybe two or three CD-ROM drives (or, for fun, get a nice SCSI burner and two or three plextor 6 disk changers).

Then, build a media box - put the TV, MP3, DVD and firewire stuff in it - vid capture, etc. It doesn't need an insane size HD - unless you are doing a fair amount of vid capture, then you will want a local AV drive. Most of the data can be dumped to the file server.

For scanning/printing, set up a scan/print (and perhaps even DP) server.

Network all of this using 100BaseT and a hub (or, if you are real cheap like me, use 10BaseT - but spend the money on the cards for 100BaseT, then later get a fast hub). Hook up a KVM switch (I just got a 6 port Aten Master View off Ebay for $50.00 - so it is possible to do this el-cheapo!) to your monitor/mouse/keyboard - so you don't have scads of KVM around - unless you wish to place things so that you can have this (sometimes it is handy to have multiple monitors and such).

Get older motherboards for your ISA connectivity - and distribute everything else...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

First off, get to a doctor, and go from there.

However...

My experience started last October - I was working on a gocart, and while seated, turned my body to put the steering wheel back in place, and threw my back out - major pain. I couldn't even stand up properly.

What I realized prior to that moment was that there was a ton of warning signs - I would have a stiff back if I sat for long periods in that same position ("Indian-style" - no offence to NAs), etc - that I had ignored.

Well, I went to my doctor, and I was given Ibuprofen - 600mg - 3 a day. That made the pain go away, and I rested for a month - no hard work, etc. But then, I tried to ride the gocart, and fucked my back again. This time, I went back to using the IB, ran out - couldn't get another prescription, so I got some "south-o-the-border" IB, and took that. I ran out again, bought some over the counter 200mg, and took four (up to 800mg) - at one point I got to where I was up all night in pain, taking god-knows how much IB (I know at one point I was doing 1200-1400mg a couple of times a day - still prescript strength, but not for this), and it wasn't doing jack (oh, BTW - the side affect of IB causing constipation is true!).

At that point, not knowing how much I was really taking, wondering about the effects on my liver, and why my back pain wasn't going away, I figured "Fuck it, they ain't working - I don't need them" and I stopped the IB.

In less than two days my pain was majorly reduced - in a week, gone. I haven't tried riding my gocart in months (might go crazy sometime and try it again - who really knows). I get up out of my chair more often, and basically try to keep from being a desk spud. Stretching and exercise help as well.

I am still uncertain whether the IB was actually not working, or whether something else was going on, I don't know - but all I do know is that the pain went away when I stopped taking the meds...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

Hard to find nowadays, but I am sure they are still produced somewhere, in some manner:

Parachute Pants!

Actually, I think they are called cargo pants now, but basically they are pants (and I actually have some shorts that are the same way - these are easy to find) that are big and "flowing", with a gazillion pockets (ok, maybe not that many, but I used to have a pair a long time ago, back when they were popular - around the time of break dancing - ouch, really dating myself there - that had 10 pockets)...

AFA the cargo shorts go - I have a couple pair that are long like bermudas, but have six pockets - four up front, two in back. The four up front can hold 2-3 cans of soda at once!!!

I am wondering if the parachute pants were called such because they were big, or if they make certain style cargo pants for parachutists, or something - look into mil-surplus clothing for similar gear - maybe aviator gear/pants - hmm...

Now, getting this past any kind of dress code you may have at your job might be hard...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

There is - it is called VCD.

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

When I first heard that there was going to be a "Lone Gunmen" spinoff - I thought "Great! It might be a fun show..." - then I saw the preview trailers, and thought "Gah! They made it a comedy!" - and I didn't bother to watch it.

Five weeks (and episodes) later, my SO brought home a tape she borrowed from a coworker - it had those five episodes on it - and I decided, "well, I will take a look"...

The following week I began archiving the episodes, figuring I would dump them to MPEG at some point - and get the tape from that guy again to dump and make an mpeg of that...

I love the show! It is campy - lot's of "in" jokes (esp in the pilot episode) that ONLY geeks would get. I hated when they brought in that "dumb guy" (Steve? Jeff?), but even he has his purpose, and I am beginning to see it. One of the recent episodes showed that their "base" of operations is a lot larger than x-files ever let on - it is warehouse size, with what seem to be apartments, or at least "sleepover" type rooms for those late nights.

Now it is all going away...figures.

Now I definitely have to get a copy of that tape, just so I can have all the episodes (I was hoping that after the season finali, provided they show it, that there was going to be re-runs, and I could catch the others that way - not a chance, now - and no chance for store tapes or anything).

Damn!

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

...post the following question:

"How do you read the PC joystick port for joysticks with more than four buttons?"

I then gave it a little thought, and realized it was possible to go up to 15 buttons by interpreting the buttons as four bits (value of 0 meaning "no buttons pressed") - but what about other sticks and controllers where things become even more complex? I had always wondered "Does force feedback and similar sticks use MIDI?"...

I decided to do a little searching (via Google), and came across the motherlode of sites to answer my question:

Tomi Engdahl's Joystick Interfacing FAQ

It honestly covers it all - and I thought other /. readers might like to know more. I especially liked the writeup regarding how the MS Sidewinder 3D Pro communicates (in digital mode) by clocking the data out to the PC via the buttons, and relying on a trigger via the write to the joystick port (which resets the multivibrators in the interface, but also causes a current flow which can be detected - see this (under the question "Is there any way to get any output from joystick port?" for an explanation) to determine when to start clocking the data. I am already getting ideas on how I could apply a similar scheme for various uses...

I hope this helps anyone who may have been wondering about all of that - it seems like PC joystick interfacing and programming is still a very interesting, yet obscure art...

Side note: In all fairness, Tomi Engdahl's site is arguably one the best sites on the net for all electronics related information - visit the link if you don't believe me...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

I got this book free online a couple weeks ago, although I haven't had time to read it yet...link is here: http://www.worldcom.com/us/info/t1/
Enjoy!

More precisely, without "glasses".

Back in the mid-late 80's (perhaps earlier?) I remember watching an episode of "That's Incredible", about these two guys (may have been professors?) at a university or college (in California, I believe) who created a form of 3D that didn't require glasses.

In fact, it didn't require both eyes! That's right, you could close one eye while viewing it, and it would still look 3D!

They broadcasted a few video clips of the effect on the episode of "That's Incredible", and it really was amazing. The two dudes who came up with the system said they did it with some kind of "black box" device they had created, that could be inserted between a video source and the display, and it would "make" the image 3D. You could tape the clips, and it woud still look fine if you played them back.

At the time, I was stunned - still am - that such an effect could be produced. I remember that the images were kind of shakey (the inventors of the process admitted this on the broadcast), but not annoyingly so. I remember taping the episode, but I have since lost the tape. I remember trying to play it back, closing one eye - and yes, it all worked! There was depth to the image (this was the one "problem" with it - the depth went "into" the screen, not out of it - so it looked like you were looking through a window - but it was still nice).

Has anybody heard of these men, the episode, what the technique was, what happened to them, how it works, etc? I have seen many strange ways to get 3D - but this one has always taken the cake as the strangest, since it relies on a fundamental brain process to trick the brain into seeing 3D (even with one eye!!!)...

Worldcom - Generation Duh!

I have known it couldn't be all Bernoulli, and that it had to be mostly angle of attack - why?

I am sure some of you have played with paper airplanes, as well as balsa gliders. If not, go out and buy or build one - notice how on the "el-cheapo" balsa gliders the wing is just a flat piece of balsa? Not much of an airfoil - but it does fly! Paper airplanes are even worse - they are typically folded in such a way that they actually have an almost reverse airfoil, with a notch on the upper edge...

Speaking of paper planes - how many of you still play with them? I know I do - over the years I have managed to fold damn near every possibility. I have one design for a stunt plane that I actually have gotten to do both tail slides and flat spins (one time, the plane didn't recover, and hit the ground in a flat spin - amazed me to see that in a paper plane, something most people will never see with a full sized plane and live to tell the tale).

BTW - Does anyone remember the Kline/Folgeman (sp?) wing? This was a wing that had a notch on the bottom - they had an article in Omni Magazine in the 80's about it, with paper planes to cut out and fly. They also had a book - and they built full size flying mock ups (as well as RC models). Supposedly, the wing was impossible (or near impossible) to stall, and could handle very well at low speeds. What ever happened to them?

Worldcom - Generation Duh!