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Domain: zenspider.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to zenspider.com.

Comments · 6

  1. Re:PLIP by omnichad · · Score: 1 · on Ask Slashdot: Old PC File Transfer Problem

    You win. To further complicate things, this laptop doesn't have VGA out. So you first have to build an adapter to fit the docking station port:
    http://www.zenspider.com/~pwil...

  2. Search Google. by mlheur · · Score: 1 · on Ask Slashdot: Old PC File Transfer Problem

    http://www.jave.de/aero/44to40...
    http://www.zenspider.com/~pwil...
    http://repair4laptop.org/disas...

  3. Maybe it's time ... by hanakj · · Score: 0 · on War Brewing on the Inexpensive Laptop Front

    ...for me to dig out my Compaq Contura Aero. http://www.zenspider.com/~pwilk/aero_stuff.html

  4. Re:Ruby is slow by Fweeky · · Score: 1 · on What's the Secret Sauce in Ruby on Rails?
    "Ruby is at least as slow as JavaScript, if not slower"

    That's a meaningless statement; JavaScript has lots of different implimentations, ranging from the so-slow-you'll-want-to-gouge-your-eyes-out iCab to the pretty blazing VM-maybe-even-JITed Opera one that seems to just keep getting better.
    " -- at least you can compile JavaScript into Java"

    Uh huh. I'll be sure to keep that in mind when my JavaScript DOM manipulations are too slow.
    "I guess what would make me happy is an insanely intelligent compiler for Ruby, that targeted the .net environment. Performance comparable to C#, developer time comparable to normal Ruby, bytecode obfuscated enough to use in commercial products.
    But that's depressing, too, because in the amount of time it would take me to learn enough about Ruby and .net to do that, not to mention the programming of that insane compiler, I could write hundreds of useful Ruby programs."

    Microsoft are sponsoring development of a Ruby implimentation for CLR. Meanwhile YARV will be giving us a Ruby 2.0 that's rather a lot faster. Also, as for "porting to C", you do know that writing C extensions for Ruby is about as easy as it gets, right? Even without using RubyInline it's simple enough that you can replace a single small method in a single class with an extension and not end up writing 10x as much support code as actual useful C. If you're lucky you might even be able to automate the conversion.
  5. Re:Here's my take on it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0 · on Open Source Advocacy The Right Way

    There are efforts to rewrite large segments of Ruby in itself.

    Smalltalk is written largely in itself, for example. And the Glasgow Haskell Compiler is written in Haskell, or at least almost all of it is.

  6. Re:I wonder by eclectro · · Score: 5, Informative · on Factory Testing of Airborne Laser Cannon Completed

    I wonder what color the laser is...

    I hear the green ones burn out your eye

    Actually the laser beam will be invisible (unlike the the one in the movie Real Genius), as it is in the infrared range of light. This particular frequency of light also lends itself to good transmission through the atmosphere. More info here

    Another interesting thing about the laser is that it's a chemical laser that genrates energy through the reaction of oxygen and iodine.

    Which means that the plane will have a limited number of shots (I believe three or four) before it has to go and refuel.

    The power of this laser would not heat up and pop the popcorn like in the movie, but would vaporize a nice hole right to the ground.

    I hear the green ones burn out your eye

    Looking into a laser or letting laser light into your eyes is a very bad idea, no matter how low the power may seem. Even for the pen lasers that are everywhere. You do not know what the consequences may be, and harm to your eyesight is not worth it.