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Pervasive Computing Systems

nickynicky9doors writes "Washington Technology has an article on Smart Conference Rooms. 'Pervasive-computing systems ...will come about through large numbers of small devices and sensors, some so unobtrusive that people won't know they're interacting with a computer at all.' The Smart Flow System was designed with open-source middle ware and the data acquistion system is based on a Linux cluster of 14 computers."

88 comments

  1. Fist Sport by ringbarer · · Score: -1

    Four for Four?

    --
    "Why did they cancel my favorite Sci-Fi show? I downloaded ALL the episodes!"
    1. Re:Fist Sport by LunchLady · · Score: -1

      You're on a roll! Keep up the good work!

      Oh yeah, Jon Katz rapes children. He's an asshole.

  2. What the hell is wrong with slashdot!! by ForWhomTheHellTrolls · · Score: -1
    Let us assume the fact that posts are showing up in reverse order is simply another bug resulting from shoddy half-ass open sores programming, and NOT INTENTIONAL. This is what happens when dirty GNU hippies smoke too much weed before coding.

    Clean your swampy armpits, correct your rancid body odor and fix the bug dammit!! But please for Gods sake TAKE A SHOWER!

  3. Perverted Computing Systems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    They keep track of all the porn sites you visit, then send that list to your mom

  4. I love you BIG ASS SPORK! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    I love you BIG_ASS_SPORK! fp! fp! fp!

    1. Re:I love you BIG ASS SPORK! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      Hahahah I am the ONLY one so far to be designated as a -1 Troll! I rule you all!

    2. Re:I love you BIG ASS SPORK! by LunchLady · · Score: -1

      Yeah...these moderators just aren't doing their job. Perhaps they are all stuck up in each other's asses.

  5. I've got a theory... by ringbarer · · Score: -1

    They're trying to kill the ancient and noble martial art of Fist Sport off for good. If the comments are randomly re-arranged, then what purpose is there in declaring "first"?

    It's just another form of racism.

    Just wait for all the -1 Redundant's to start flying around from the ignorant chicken-choking moderators.

    --
    "Why did they cancel my favorite Sci-Fi show? I downloaded ALL the episodes!"
  6. will it order lunch? by envelope · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sounds like with the microphone array it will be able to hear stomachs growling and go ahead and order lunch for everyone.

    --

    appended to the end of comments you post, 120 chars
    1. Re:will it order lunch? by sharkey · · Score: 2

      ...go ahead and order lunch for everyone.

      Cool! Once this is out, the "Double Anchovy and White Castle only" add-on will be at the top of every BOFH's Christmas list, right behind Ye Olde Etherkiller.

      --

      --
      "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
  7. Imagine a Beowulf ... by drew_kime · · Score: 3, Funny

    Aww, crap, it really is a cluster. Well that's not very funny, now is it?

    --
    Nope, no sig
    1. Re:Imagine a Beowulf ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      No, it's not. Moderators, please moderate this drivel down like the crap it is.

  8. Heh... by The+Turd+Report · · Score: -1

    Washington Technology has an article on Smart Faggotry Rooms. 'Pervasive-faggotry systems ...will come about through large numbers of small penises and butt-plugs, some so unobtrusive that people won't know they're interacting with a Linux Zealot at all.' The Fart Flow System was designed with open-source leather ware and the jizz acquistion system is based on a Linux cluster-fuck of 14 users.

    1. Re:Heh... by neal+n+bob · · Score: -1

      what's up Turd Reporter? Your posts have been more infrequent the last week or so. Did you get your kidneys worked on?

    2. Re:Heh... by The+Turd+Report · · Score: -1

      Naw. I had classes on ACE Authentication Server all last week. I did not have time to do a propper report. Hell, I didn't even have time to take a propper shit. I could only stop at the bathroom to stick my ass in the door and fire one off. I pray that no one was in there.

    3. Re:Heh... by neal+n+bob · · Score: -1

      ACES - very interesting. The government is putting a lot of stuff on ACES now; I went to a few meetings on it. Probably a good thing to learn if you are doing tech in N. Virginia.

  9. Or not so secret rooms by crumbz · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I like the secured room in Nueromancer (Count Zero? I forget) that you have to pay by the minute for complete privacy. No possibility of listening devices or transmitters. A complete 180 from this idea. Everyday privacy is being drawn and quartered. Granted a conference room might not seem to be the most secure place to discuss a sensitive topic, but a voice recognizing cluster of Linux boxes? Give me a break. What is to stop employers from deploying this technology throughout the office space in the name of security? See why 2002 will be like 1984.

  10. Trust? by Atzanteol · · Score: 1

    I think the biggest problem with systems like this is trusting the computers to Do The Right Thing(TM).

    --
    "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"

    - Charles Darwin
    1. Re:Trust? by delta407 · · Score: 2, Informative

      AT&T labs have produced something they call Sentient Computing, and while technically it may not be sentient, it would probably be kind of creepy. Each person wears a "bat" which lets a central computer monitor their whereabouts, and based on information fed to it by various sensors, can deduce what the person is doing.

      This is a neat system; you can point at things with the bat and the computer will respond (like pointing the bat at a poster to choose scanner settings), however, since this computer is tied into the phone system (among other things), this could get kind of scary.

    2. Re:Trust? by GreyPoopon · · Score: 1
      however, since this computer is tied into the phone system (among other things), this could get kind of scary.

      Pointy-haired Boss: Darnit! We're trapped in here! The door is stuck and the ventilation system isn't working! Computer, contact security and have them send someone to open the door.

      Computer: I'm sorry Dave. I can't do that.

      Seriously, though. I, for one, would be hesitant to have a meeting in a room that *might* be recording everything I say. I would prefer a visible dictation device that sits on the table where I can see it working and provides me with visual feedback of the dictation. If they could just improve speech recognition technology, that would be enough of a leap forward for me. Forget the rest of the crap.

      --

      GreyPoopon
      --
      Why is it I can write insightful comments but can't come up with a clever signature?

  11. Technology is great, but... by russianspy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Technology is great, but sometimes we all need a bit of peace and quiet. Am I the only one who actually unpluggs his phone, set the answering machine to silent and simpy read a book in peace? I find that haveing too many gadgets all around you makes for a stressfull time, something is always beeping at you. It's like haveing 5 kids continously asking for attention.
    I propose a petition. There should be one room in every house without ANY computers, telephones, or other devices that need "attention" of any kind. Keep computers out of my bathroom!

    1. Re:Technology is great, but... by kill-hup · · Score: 1

      I second - please, please keep computers (and cameras/microphones) out of the bathroom ;-)

      --
      Sinepaw.org: Grape Winos
    2. Re:Technology is great, but... by Quaryon · · Score: 2, Funny

      Keep computers out of my bathroom!

      "I'm sorry Dave, but you really shouldn't have eaten all those beans earlier..."

      Q.

    3. Re:Technology is great, but... by str_pes · · Score: 2, Interesting

      So this is why we have active research projects in Europe that are investigating the managed intrustiveness of this "pervasive" technology.

      Yes, I too want to just sit and chill, but there are _some_ notifications that I really want to hear irrespective of whatever "normal" policy I deploy (e.g. let me chill, but if my mom is sick then I wanna know about it)

  12. Interactive meetings take less work by kill-hup · · Score: 1
    I like the potential to not need to manually control the cameras when video-conferencing. I just love it when the speaker on the other end has happy feet and you wind up wasting time trying to keep him in frame ;)

    I also like the fact that the guts of the project are being released to the public so we can all play. Not like I have the equipment to set this up, but it's nice to know I could if I wanted to.

    --
    Sinepaw.org: Grape Winos
  13. Cup of coffe anyone? by Diabolical · · Score: 2

    Suddenly gets another meaning... while your in the boardroom easily ordering cups of coffee, getting everyones taste from their PDA's while continuing to blab about next quarter's profits...

    Ha... the moment someone walks in the boardroom their PDA's sends electronic businesscards to evryone else PDA. Cell phones switch off automatically or in the very least switch to vibrate instead of your favorite mp3. Appointments spoken out in the room will be recorded and an agenda entry will be made...

    Could see uses for this in the companies.. can off course be hacked in such a way you can read out everyone's agenda to see if their next meeting will be with your competitor or not..

  14. Why is this page so narrow? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enough .charaters .per .line .that .really .sucks .when .that .happens .and .you .have .to .put .some .lame .lameness .filter .defeater .text .in .there .i .wonder .how .many .people .will .read .this .whole .comment .I .certainly .hope .it .doesnt .annoy .too .many .people .This .is .just .the .beginning .because .PAGE .WIDENING .IS .BACK .I .like .wide .pages .I .wish .all .pages .could .be .as .wide .as .this .dont .you .wide .pages .are .much .cooler .than .those .narrow .pages .you .are .used .to .reading .because .you .dont .have .to .worry .about .the .lameness .filter .telling .you .that .you .don't .have .enoug

    1. Re:Why is this page so narrow? by LunchLady · · Score: -1

      WOW!
      Now that is one wide page.

    2. Re:Why is this page so narrow? by Roto-Rooter+Man · · Score: -1

      This page widener seems to affect only IE. And not all versions of IE at that.

      --

      The goatse guy for president. Win one for the gaper!
  15. Privacy Implications by jweb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    On the surface, this may seem like a Good Thing(tm), but think for a second: Do you really want your walls recording everything you do, everything you say over the course of a day?

    --

    Think For Yourself. Question Authority.
    1. Re:Privacy Implications by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      I don't care, I'm not going to kill someone, cheat on my wife, or otherwise. What do you have to hide, I wonder?

    2. Re:Privacy Implications by kill-hup · · Score: 2, Funny

      Richard Nixon learned that lesson quite well ;-)

      --
      Sinepaw.org: Grape Winos
    3. Re:Privacy Implications by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, you never say anything that you wouldn't mind letting the world hearing? I'm not implying anything illegal, but how about just talking about your boss or your coworker, or giving your credit card number to someone on the phone while l33tHax0r33 is listening through your walls? Not to be paranoid, but I'm just saying that there are perfectly legitimate reasons to care if you're being heard or recorded.

    4. Re:Privacy Implications by ryanb100 · · Score: 1

      I know I may be setting myself up here but is it really going to be such an issue, I mean when we start working out how much compute power you need to recognise everyone at work, on the train, bus etc and how much storage it is all going to take and who the hell is going to pay for it all

    5. Re:Privacy Implications by sharkey · · Score: 2

      Do you really want your walls recording everything you do, everything you say over the course of a day?

      Fox would probably bring out a "If These Walls Could Talk" series about CEOs and their secretaries.

      --

      --
      "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
    6. Re:Privacy Implications by thrig · · Score: 2

      In cases where pervasive computing is really useful, the lab rats (e.g. underpaid graduate students) will not have a say in the matter.

    7. Re:Privacy Implications by Thing+1 · · Score: 1
      On the surface, this may seem like a Good Thing(tm), but think for a second: Do you really want your walls recording everything you do, everything you say over the course of a day?

      At first this produced a knee-jerk reaction "Of course not!"

      But then I thought further. Weren't most of us taught that there's a "God" watching everything we do, judging us?

      Perhaps pervasive computing is simply the technical term for "God 2.0".

      David Brin had written about this many years ago. I tend to agree with him: people will get used to the technology, and deal with it. It'll be somewhat disruptive, but it's necessary -- the Powers That Be want to keep tabs on their equipment (including employees), and the police will want to be able to witness crimes "in action" after-the-fact, so cameras will appear everywhere.

      Given that, it's better for us to maintain control and have cameras literally everywhere, including in the control rooms where the HR lackeys and police and politicians are doing their watching.

      And with nanotechnology, the cameras become particles of dust. With the economies of scale that nanofabrication brings with it, this dust could cover the earth. Storage would become an issue, but again, nanostorage would save the day.

      --
      I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
  16. btrieve by cr@ckwhore · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    got btrieve?

    www.pervasive.com

    OH! Sorry, not *that* pervasive ;)

    --
    Skiers and Riders -- http://www.snowjournal.com
  17. asimov's robots by dollargonzo · · Score: 1

    sounds like a prelude to asimov's robot fantasies. these things dont walk and talk yet, but he had the right idea with the three laws--otherwise, these things can be used for quite some nasty personal abuse, to say the least.

    QED

    --
    BSD is for people who love UNIX. Linux is for those who hate Microsoft.
  18. Negative aspects ... by NWT · · Score: 1

    Phew, this is a huge step towards computer-controlled life ... but, nono i wouldn't be happy if a computer were watching all my steps, who knows what they will use that data for ...! It's ok as long as there is no abuse of the system and it really helps the stressed businessmen/women.

    Anyway, what will happen when the sensors catch someone picking in the nose? Big UUPS :-/

    --
    Life sucks.
    1. Re:Negative aspects ... by sharkey · · Score: 2

      Anyway, what will happen when the sensors catch someone picking in the nose?

      Never mind that, imagine that Taco gets one to watch over meetings of the /. editors. What does it do when it catches someone pouring hot grits in their pants, or "doing the goatse"?

      --

      --
      "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
  19. Katz is GAY! by LunchLady · · Score: -1

    *Intel Processors Deliver Leading-Edge Processing Power For Applied Computing Solutions
    *ClearCube and Kontron to Build Applied Computing Applications on Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor and Intel® 845 Chipset


    LONG BEACH, Calif., Jan. 21, 2002 -- Intel Corporation today announced that ClearCube and Kontron, two leading vendors in the applied computing marketplace, chose the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor at 2A GHz with the Intel® 845 chipset to develop leading-edge applied computing solutions such as client blades and networking appliances.


    Corporation today announced that ClearCube and Kontron, two leading vendors in the applied computing marketplace, chose the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor at 2A GHz with the Intel® 845 chipset to develop leading-edge applied computing solutions such as client blades and networking appliances.


    The Pentium 4 processor at 2A GHz is built on the semiconductor industry's most advanced manufacturing technology -- Intel's 0.13-micron fabrication process -- and uses highly efficient copper interconnects that enable an increase in the chip's on-board memory while reducing overall processor size by over 30 percent. Intel offers extended lifecycle support for the Pentium 4 processor at 2A GHz, which is required for applied computing applications.


    As applied computing solutions such as communications equipment, transaction terminals and industrial devices become increasingly complex, they require the increased performance of the Pentium 4 processor at 2A GHz.


    ClearCube provides client blade systems for use in manufacturing line monitoring stations and secured military installations. Because they require high computing and thermal performance, ClearCube chose the Pentium 4 processor at 2A GHz for its high-density client blade products.


    "Our customers need client blades that have the intense computing power needed to perform multiple calculations and simulations," said Mike Frost, ClearCube president and CEO. "Additionally, our client blades are packed tightly in a constrained space in order to adjust thermal dissipation to allow for great system reliability and uptime. The Intel Pentium 4 processor 2A GHz enables us to meet our customers' demands."


    Kontron, one of the industry's largest applied computing companies, will use the Pentium 4 processor at 2A GHz and the Intel 845 chipset to deliver PICMG 1.0 compliant boards, servers and systems that can be used in such networking appliances as Virtual Private Networks (VPN) and firewalls, as well as DSL and SSL applications.


    "We chose to base our networking appliances on the Pentium 4 processor at 2A GHz because its high frequencies allow for faster processing of transactions, while the Intel® Netburst(TM) micro-architecture accelerates the computations that are required for these devices to operate," said Benoit Robert, Kontron executive director of product marketing.


    Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor and Intel® 845 Chipset The Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor is based on the Intel® NetBurst(TM) micro-architecture. This allows for faster processing of data and provides a new scalable architecture that translates into lower long-term total cost of ownership, a benefit valued by vendors and their customers in the applied computing market segment. The processor is validated with the Intel® 845 chipset that also has extended life cycle support.


    The Intel 845 chipset supports SDRAM memory up to three gigabytes and DDR memory up to two gigabytes. Together, these products offer customers price and performance for applied computing platforms needing long life cycle support.


    Pricing and Availability The Pentium 4 processor at 2A GHz with 512KB level two cache is priced at $364. Intel is also shipping boxed Intel Pentium 4 processors up to 2.2 GHz to distributors and system builders worldwide. The Intel 845 chipset sells for $39, in 1,000-unit quantities.


    Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom


    Intel and Intel NetBurst are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.


    *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.


    Want to see Jon Katz in his natural element? Click Here!










  20. Come on! Say it! I Dare you! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Come on, just one Beowulf cluster crack! I'm waitin' for ya!
    --- the anti Beowulf cluster troll troll

  21. Rubbish! by yatest5 · · Score: -1

    "If I'm talking to you, and a computer can follow what the conversation is about, it can go out and get services," Herman said. "It can look up stuff on the Internet to help us in the discussion."

    My computer can't even find me 'Britney Spears Naked' when I type it in...

    --
    • Mod parent up! [a] by Anonymous Coward (Score:5) Thurs, June 31, @13:37
  22. I can see this implemented at microsoft... by vreeker · · Score: 0

    "What do you mean we will not meet the fourth quarter relase date?" Asks Bill Gates.

    "Well there is always the steal BSD source option, that probably won't be noticed until the software is out of date" mentions a lackey sitting close.

    The omniscient walls pipes up "Well, Bill! according to google the best operating system to steal is ... is ... is ... Oh No! Cyclical reference you already stole it ..."

    Meanwhile back at the enron of the future...
    "Wall - this is the FBI what illicit activities were spoke of in this room in the last two years?"

    "4,212,326 Items in queue. list all?" the wall awaits a response.

    --
    Its cold up here, turn up the heat in my igloo please.

  23. Motorola is pushing this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Their motto is "Things are starting to talk to other things". But how long until the "thing" your PDA/sweater/whatever is talking to is in the hands of a crooked cop? Their "explanation" even shows the police getting evidence from a digital device without a warrant! Read the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution to see where I'm coming from.

  24. Free dictation? by Grape+Shasta · · Score: 2
    Herman's team connected a variety of off-the-shelf devices to a prototype meeting room that can take dictation, track individual speakers and, perhaps some day, answer spoken questions.

    I'd like to see this actually work... not the spoken questions part, just the simple dictation. I am doing alot of research into voice recognition software right now, and I have yet to see software that can accurately transcribe free dictation from any given speaker.

    Sure, some software does pretty well if it is only looking for a few specific words. But give it a 60,000 word english dictionary to work with, and it just doesn't cut it. The best I've seen is maybe 70% accuracy, on a good day, in a quiet room, with my face right up to the microphone. 70% does not make for a final document that anyone wants to try and wade through and decipher.

    Anyone can say they support "dictation", but until the accuracy increases, it's like saying you support database transactions because you only corrupt 30% of the data.

    Has anyone out there had better experiences than me? What do you think is the best speech recognition software for free dictation right now? (My vote would be for ViaVoice.)

    --

    "I am a cipher, a cipher, wrapped in an enigma, smothered in secret sauce" -Jimmy James
    1. Re:Free dictation? by Olivier+Galibert · · Score: 1

      We use Viavoice for linux, and the accuracy is around 85-90% from 3 meters away in a lab with ~50Db of fan noise. The array rules. That's after training Viavoice, of course, and with a speaker that knows how to over-articulate.

      If I were you, I'd suspect the microphone and/or the sound card. You should have better results in the first place.

      OG.

    2. Re:Free dictation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      when i tried a few months ago with viavoice, my free speech rate was under 40%. rumor has it that ibm will be releasing a viavoice "free speech" version at some point...

  25. Why Linux topic. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Since the system probably runs on most of the unices why put it under the linux topic instead of for example technology topic.

  26. It's called a joke, son by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Blah blah lameness filter, blah blah nothing to see here.

  27. help me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I posted under the UID John Ashcroft. All my comments were there this morning, however, there was a problem for 20 minutes. Apparently there was db problems. Anyways, all my comments have been deleted. :(

    1. Re:help me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      I see, the janitors have modded me down to -1 offtopic immediately. :(

  28. Blacks: Clinton Greatest President Ever by Original+AIDS+Monkey · · Score: -1

    WASHINGTON - Abraham Lincoln has moved to the top of the list of greatest presidents in an ABC News poll for President's Day that saw George W. Bush ease ahead of Ronald Reagan in the overall survey and among Republicans.

    Lincoln was chosen by 20 percent, while the current president and John F. Kennedy were essentially tied for second -- with Kennedy at 14 percent and Bush at 13 percent. Reagan, Bill Clinton and Franklin Roosevelt were tied for third at 8 percent apiece.

    In the same ABC poll a year ago, Reagan was at the top with 18 percent, Kennedy 16 percent and Lincoln 14 percent.

    Kennedy and Lincoln were tied atop the list among Democrats this year, whereas Lincoln was the easy winner among independents, and Bush and Lincoln led among Republicans, with Reagan slightly behind them.

    Lincoln was first among whites, but second among blacks, who overwhelmingly chose Clinton as the greatest president. One of Lincoln's best known achievements was freeing the slaves during the Civil War. Roosevelt was the leader among those 65 and older.

    The poll was conducted Feb. 13-17 among a sample of 1,025 adults and had an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

    --


    =======
    P.S. Bite! You've been bitten by the Original AIDS Monkey! You have AIDS now!
  29. The Art of Cunniligus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Hey, I have a lot of respect for all you guys who like to eat pussy because there are too few of you out there. And I'm not the only woman who says this. Furthermore, some of you guys who are giving it the old college try are not doing too well, so maybe this little lesson will help you out. When a woman finds a man who gives good head, she's found a treasure she's not going to let go of him too quickly. This is one rare customer and she knows it. She won't even tell her girlfriends about it or that guy will become the most popular man in town. So, remember, most guys can fuck, and those who can usually do it satisfactorily, but the guy who gives good head, he's got it made.

    Most women are shy about their bodies. Even if you've got the world's most gorgeous woman in bed with you, she's going to worry about how you like her body. Tell her it's beautiful, tell her which parts you like best, tell her anything, but get her to trust you enough to let you down between her legs. Now stop and look at what you see.
    Beautiful, isn't it?

    There is nothing that makes a woman more unique than her pussy.

    I know. I've seen plenty of them. They come in all different sizes, colors and shapes; some are tucked inside like a little girl's cunnie and some have thick luscious lips that come out to greet you. Some are nested in brushes of fur and others are covered with transparent fuzz. Appreciate your woman's unique qualities and tell her what makes her special. Women are a good deal more verbal than men, especially during love-making. They also respond more to verbal love, which means, the more you talk to her, the easier it will be to get her off. So all the time you're petting and stroking her beautiful pussy, talk to her about it.

    Now look at it again.

    Gently pull the lips apart and look at her inner lips, even lick them if you want to. Now spread the tops of her pussy up until you can find her clit. Women have clits in all different sizes, just like you guys have different sized cocks. It doesn't mean a thing as far as her capacity for orgasm. All it means is more of her is hidden underneath her foreskin.

    Whenever you touch a woman's pussy, make sure your finger is wet. You can lick it or moisten it with juices from inside her. Be sure, by all means, to wet it before you touch her clit because it doesn't have any juices of its own and it's extremely sensitive. Your finger will stick to it if it's dry and that hurts. But you don't want to touch her clit anyway. You have to work up to that. Before she becomes aroused, her clit is too delicate to be handled.

    Approach her pussy slowly. Women, even more so than men, love to be teased. The inner part of her thigh is her most tender spot. Lick it, kiss it, make designs on it with the tip of your tongue. Come dangerously close to her pussy, then float away. Make her anticipate it.

    Now lick the crease where her leg joins her pussy. Nuzzle your face into her bush. Brush your lips over her slit without pressing down on it to further excite her. After you've done this to the point where your lady is bucking up from her seat and she's straining to get more of you closer to her, then put your lips right on top of her slit.

    Kiss her, gently, then harder. Now use your tongue to separate her pussy lips and when she opens up, run your tongue up and down between the layers of pussy flesh. Gently spread her legs more with your hands. Everything you do with a woman you're about to eat must be done gently.

    Tongue-fuck her. This feels divine. It also teases the hell out of her because by now she wants some attention given to her clit. Check it out. See if her clit has gotten hard enough to peek out of its covering. If so, lick it. If you can't see it, it might still be waiting for you underneath. So bring your tongue up to the top of her slit and feel for her clit. You may barely experience its presence. But even if you can't feel the tiny pearl, you can make it rise by licking the skin that covers it. Lick hard now and press into her skin.

    Gently pull the pussy lips away and flick your tongue against the clit, hood covered or not. Do this quickly. This should cause her legs to shudder. When you sense she's getting up there toward orgasm, make your lips into an O and take the clit into your mouth. Start to suck gently and watch your lady's face for her reaction. If she can handle it, begin to suck harder. If she digs it, suck even harder. Go with her. If she lifts her pelvis into the air with the tension of her rising orgasm, move with her, don't fight her. Hang on, and keep your hot mouth on her clit. Don't let go. That's what she'll be saying too: 'Don't stop. Don't ever stop!'

    There's a reason for that - most men stop too soon. Just like with cock sucking, this is something worth learning about and worth learning to do well. I know a man who's a lousy fuck, simply lousy, but he can eat pussy like nobody I know and he never has trouble getting a date. Girls are falling all over him.

    But back to your pussy eating session...There's another thing you can do to intensify your woman's pleasure. You can finger-fuck her while she's enjoying your clit-licking talents. Before, during or after. She'll really like it. In addition to the erogenous zones surrounding her clit, a woman has another extremely sensitive area at the roof of her vagina. This is what you rub up against when you're fucking her. Well, since your cock is pretty far away from your mouth, your fingers will have to do the fucking.

    Take two fingers. One is too skinny and three is too wide and therefore can't get deep enough. Make sure they're wet so you don't irritate her skin. Slide them inside, slowly at first, then a little faster. Fuck her with them rhythmically. Speed up only when she does. Listen to her breathing.

    She'll let you know what to do. If you're sucking her clit and finger-fucking her at the same time, you're giving her far more stimulation than you would be giving her with your cock alone. So you can count on it that she's getting high on this. If there's any doubt, check her out for symptoms. Each woman is unique. You may have one whose nipples get hard when she's excited or only when she's having an orgasm. Your girl might flush red or begin to tremble. Get to know her symptoms and you'll be a more sensitive lover.

    When she starts to have an orgasm, for heaven's sakes, don't let go of that clit. Hang in there for the duration. When she starts to come down from the first orgasm, press your tongue along the underside of the clit, leaving your lips covering the top. Move your tongue in and out of her cunt. If your fingers are inside, move them a little too, gently though, things are extremely sensitive just now.

    If you play your cards right, you'll get some multiple orgasms this way. A woman stays excited for a full hour after she's had an orgasm. Do you realize the full impact of that information? The potential? One woman was clocked at 56 orgasms at one sitting. Do you know what effect you would have on a woman you gave 56 orgasms to? She'd be yours as long as you wanted her.

    The last advice I have for you is this: After you've made her come, made her your slave by giving her the best head she's ever had, don't leave her alone just yet. Talk to her, stroke her body, caress her breasts. Keep making love to her quietly until she's come all the way down. A man can get off and go to sleep in the same breath and feel no remorse, no sense of loss. But a woman by nature requires some sensitivity from her lover in those first few moments after sex.

    Oral sex can be the most exciting sexual experiences you can have. But it's what you make it. Take your time, practice often, pay attention to your lover's signals, and most of all, enjoy yourself.

    The G-Spot

    This does exist. And in over half of the women out there, it works better than anything else you can do to cause a strong, prolonged orgasm. The original name is the Grafenberg spot, after a doctor, Earnest Grafenberg, who documented the area (which may have been known by people here and there throughout history) in the fifties.

    This "spot" is a small "mound" of tissue inside the vagina, between a penny and quarter in size, which responds to being pressed upon. It's almost certainly not the skenes glands, (which are located around the urethra, which is behind the G-spot area), as has been suggested by a few people. In fact, the G-Spot is the tissue in that raised area of the vagina, which has a higher concentration of sexual nerves, and produces hormones similar to those made by the male's prostate gland.

    A sort of map to the area -- Imagine your lover lying on her back, legs spread. Your position is between her legs. You would slide a finger inside her vagina, palm up. With your finger straight back, middle finger is best, you would curve it toward yourself, gently, as if you were gesturing to someone to "come here". In doing so, the area you press on should be pretty near her "G-Spot" area. If you know enough to follow the urethra (the tube that leads from the bladder to where the pee comes out), along the inside of her vagina, you may feel a slight swelling (if she's excited) at the point where the g-spot is.

    She must be excited, especially if either you or she is new to the g-spot, for the g-spot to have any real effect at all. It's not the ideal area for getting your lover aroused.

    But when she is excited, this area (more often than not) is the best way to bring her to orgasm. You work your way back to it gradually, teasing her (typically, this works best) with your fingers, slowly and gently. It's easier to hit the right area with two fingers, but this may not be comfortable for her, depending on how "tight" she is at that moment. When you have your fingers around the right area, try gently pressing, not too quickly. The movement should be fairly rhythmic. It's typically best if you're licking her clitoris (or near it, depending on the woman) at the same time...don't make a big deal out of the "quest", this will often make her feel self-conscious, or distracted. The licking should seem to be the primary activity.

    When you find the right area, she should respond by getting more excited. Most of the vagina's inside surface isn't really that sexually sensitive, believe it or not...most of the excitement of randomly inserting fingers is more psychological than from the actual stimulation.

    While more complicated techniques work with some women, some of the time, the best basic technique, upon finding the g-spot, is to continue to slowly, rhythmically press on it, while licking her clitoris (for a few women, the labia (lips) are sensitive to licking, too).

    This should cause her to build up to an orgasm.

    A G-Spot orgasm is different (always, when it works at all) than any other kind women have. It is possible, with some women, to have different qualities and kinds of orgasms from vaginal, clitoral, anal, and even breast stimulation...but with other women, those kinds of orgasms are all pretty much the same. But the G-Spot orgasm not only feels different; it also causes her body to react in a different way.

    First, it often causes a "push out" orgasm. The area around, or "above" (farther inside, that is) your fingers seems to swell up or to contract toward the opening of her vagina.

    If you find the right combination of pushing back when this happens, and slacking off to let it push out, you can cause (in perhaps half of the women) her orgasm to continue happening, long after normal ones would have subsided. In some women you can even keep her at a "plateau" (raised level) of sexual excitement, like a prolonged orgasm (or a little less than one) afterward, building up to an even bigger climax.

    That brings me to another important point; G-Spot orgasms sometimes causes a huge amount (relatively speaking) of lubrication (juices, wetness)...far more than even the most excited woman gets from "conventional" stimulation.

    When that extra wetness combines with the push-out orgasm, you get actual ejaculation...like a guy, but much better tasting. The built up juices can shoot out in such volume that you, or she, may be afraid that she lost control of her bladder. That is (almost always) not what happened. The fear that she peed can be enhanced by the fact that the urethra is behind the g-spot, so that in rare cases the woman can sometimes get the feeling that she needs to pee, even though she does not.

    In reality, in both men and women, enough sexual excitement prevents peeing, unless you try really hard. This is a built-in reflex, because urine is something of a spermicide. The "pee hard-on" that men get in the morning is partially his body taking advantage of this reflex, to keep him from accidentally wetting the bed with the urine that built up while he was sleeping.

    Taste

    Anyone who likes, say, coffee or beer should have no room to complain about the way most women taste. No, I don't mean it tastes like coffee or beer, genius...I mean that beer and coffee are, at best, acquired tastes...they are not naturally pleasant to a human being, no matter how much your addiction to one or both has convinced you otherwise. Most people, whether they remember it or not, had to learn to like the taste of beer/coffee, and had the desire to be Like the Adults to help them along. Well, I'd list taking pleasure in cunnilingus above drinking addictive beverages on the list of things that prove maturity. Aside from that, there's the fact that many people who give it an honest try genuinely enjoy the taste/smell.

  30. Interesting. by J.C.B. · · Score: -1, Troll

    That seems very similar to this project. I wonder if any patent issues will crop up in regards to this technology?

    1. Re:Interesting. by andymoe · · Score: 0, Troll

      You Fucking bastard! Are there laws against death threats on message bords?

  31. Sounds like the kitchen of the future... by CDWert · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Sounds like the kitchen of the future to me...

    You know those things you saw on clips of 40-50's news reels.

    Neat idea, but I have to seiously question the deendece to such a degree on technology, technology is fragile, and a great tool, One sinlgle 100 megaton nuclear device exploded in the atmosphere would end all that for decades.

    EMP weaponry is going to be one of the tools of the future for armies at large, you think a Jumo Jet creates havoc. What would you do tommorow, if all the electronic devices you use were suddenly non functional , Could you survive ?, I could, I have a breaker ignition vehicle in storge, backup mechanical water pumping(on a well) and oil heat with no electronic controls. This isnt the norm, prevasive compution is a cool concept but sounds far too omniporesent and fragile for me.

    --
    Sig went tro...aahemmm.....fishing........
    1. Re:Sounds like the kitchen of the future... by CrosseyedPainless · · Score: 2

      I understand your anti-computer position. It would seem that your keyboard has declared a personal vendetta against you.

    2. Re:Sounds like the kitchen of the future... by CDWert · · Score: 2

      THAT WAS FUNNY !!!!! really...My spelling is bad, I think I get more comments on that than anything, but I pegged karma cap in 2 weeks...so go figure...

      I think youre right, I hate these damm 'soft touch' jobbers, I used my Original IBM PC , clicker job for as long as I could, Noone makes a mechanical clikc thunk one anymore.

      I am not anticomputer....In the least...I have owned and used a computer since 1978. I make my living with them.

      I am however concerned about a house of cards effect when it comes to my computer interaction. I have physical copies of all documents, banking etc. If, lets say if, all the computers ceased to function tommorow, EMP, Solar Flare, you name it. Would YOU as a person and as a family survive the consequences ? I would , and its nice to know I would. But many other, city dwellers, etc.

      It seems like an awfull fragile concept to base my daily life on at the moment

      --
      Sig went tro...aahemmm.....fishing........
  32. More importantly... by zpengo · · Score: 2

    When someone farts and says "wasn't me!", we'll finally know who really did it!

    --


    Got Rhinos?
  33. Obligatory BB reference here by Pastor+Fluff · · Score: 1

    Just what we need. Betcha the next generation of this will end up making my tinfoil hat obsolete. Options?

    --
    Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble... can't we just go to Starbuck's for coffee?
  34. Word Nazi by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Make sure you program your dictation software to recognize that "alot" is not a word. While you're at it make sure you get "no one" right too.

  35. I don't think so... by J.C.B. · · Score: 0, Troll

    Computer controlled life would require many more things than this technology offers. Anyway, this isn't really that much of a step forward, these technologies have existed previously. This is just the first project to combine them together.

  36. Too much fucking trouble by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All that being prepared stuff just takes too much fucking effort for the off chance of it happening. All the preperation I need is to know the nearest high rise with good old fashioned stairway's.

  37. Didn't Parc Place do this years ago??? by Ocelot+Wreak · · Score: 2, Informative
    Borrrrrring!
    I'm sure I saw an article in Scientific American like a bajzilllion eons ago (the annual mag devoted to computing?) on ubiquitous computing at Parc Place. It described all their prototype badges, flat panel scribblers, intelligent conference rooms, etc. that were going to change the way we work. Pretty much the same privacy concerns too...

    --
    "I figure you're here 'cause you need some whacko who's willing to stick his finger in the fan. So who are we helping?
  38. Hey! I have one of these! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Oh, wait. I thought it said "perversive" computing systems.

    Oh, well.

    ~~~

  39. Vernor Vinge predicted this too! by D_Fresh · · Score: 3, Interesting

    In his novel A Deepness in the Sky Vinge talks about sensors so small they are like dust motes floating through the air, but so pervasive (and networked) that the person tapping into them can get detailed surveillance and biometric data anywhere the sensors are floating. Sounds very much like where we're headed.

    --

    Was that out loud?
  40. When will the linux kernel ... by mfago · · Score: 1

    ... boot on my SoniCare toothbrush?

    Sounds stupid, but no more so than an internet-controlled thermostat.

  41. does that include the laptops? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    does the cluster of 14 laptops include all the laptops the execs and sales/marketing dweebs are "working" on? If so, do you have to change the # of systems in the cluster depending upon whether they're playing minesweeper versus solitare?

    Don't companies already waste enough resources(time, equipment, space) on conference rooms already? Everyone always thinks there's some new holy grail of productivity. The PA system. The video monitors and videoconferencing systems. The LCD projectors. You name it, each was billed as a major productivity enhancer. None of them can change the fact that meetings are mostly held by idiots(we spent more time supporting the conference room than the combined needs of all the people -in- the room would normally require; they'd plug their laptops into phone ports, they'd leave the video conferencing unit on sucking up 256kbit of our pipe, they'd screw up the projector settings, dick around with the conference phone, etc...)

  42. eeery by GePS · · Score: 2, Funny

    is it just me, or would a beowulf cluster of these things really suck?

    just picture a whole bunch of bugs chirping "you appear to have attempted some form of productivity, is there any way I can obfuscate this process for you?"

  43. Yes, I know. by J.C.B. · · Score: -1, Troll

    My university (project page) has gotten a defense department grant to develop such sensors. While it's cool that we're getting a new building out of it, some of the applications of the technology are disturbing.

  44. Oh damn.. by jabber01 · · Score: 1

    That's what I get for mindlessly clicking.. I thought that said "Perversive Computing" and I was getting all hot and bothered..

    Waitaminute.. Computers everywhere?? Like "IN" things??? Hmmm....

    --

    The REAL jabber has the user id: 13196
    What you do today will cost you a day of your life

  45. Conference rooms, yes, but not this way by Animats · · Score: 2
    At least they've targeted a conference room. That's a step forward.

    Years ago, I was talking to the "smart room" group at Xerox PARC, which basically had taken home automation to a new, but useless, level for offices. I told them they should do a conference room where all the stuff just works.

    What's needed is stuff like this:

    • HVAC recognizes people load. If fifty people enter a room, fan speeds increase, keeping airflow per person at a constant level.
    • Lighting, blinds/drapes, and screens are controlled by something that can tell if a projector is in use.
    • Smart public address systems; no need to wear a microphone, no manual controls, and never any feedback.
    • Room-sized cell phone node, which handles incoming calls and diverts them to voicemail telling the caller that the destination phone is in a meeting, giving the caller the option to override for emergencies.
    Now those features would actually sell.
  46. think about the advertising implications... by jptwo · · Score: 1

    >This is a neat system; you can point at
    >things with the bat and the computer will respond

    if i mean to point at the poster, but accidentally point at the free poster frame from double-bat-point-click.com, do i have to suffer through a commercial jingle from at&t?

    just as users of the www have had to learn to ignore banner ads, close pop-ups, etc., so users of this technology will have to learn to ignore gibbering, day-glo beer ads.

  47. "Ubiquitous Computing" was described in 1988 by SimHacker · · Score: 2
    Pervasive computing is just another term for "Ubiquitous Computing", as described by the late Mark Weiser in 1988, when he was director of the Xerox PARC Computer Science Lab.

    Ubiquitous Computing

    Ubiquitous computing names the third wave in computing, just now beginning. First were mainframes, each shared by lots of people. Now we are in the personal computing era, person and machine staring uneasily at each other across the desktop. Next comes ubiquitous computing, or the age of calm technology, when technology recedes into the background of our lives. Alan Kay of Apple calls this "Third Paradigm" computing.

    Mark Weiser is the father of ubiquitous computing; his web page contains links to many papers on the topic.

    Two recent papers express elements of the ubiquitous computing philosophy: "Open House" (also in a MS Word version) , and "Designing Calm Technology".

    What Ubiquitous Computing Isn't

    Ubiquitous computing is roughly the opposite of virtual reality. Where virtual reality puts people inside a computer-generated world, ubiquitous computing forces the computer to live out here in the world with people. Virtual reality is primarily a horse power problem; ubiquitous computing is a very difficult integration of human factors, computer science, engineering, and social sciences.

    Early work in Ubiquitous Computing The initial incarnation of ubiquitous computing was in the form of "tabs", "pads", and "boards" built at Xerox PARC, 1988-1994. Several papers describe this work, and there are web pages for the Tabs and for the Boards (which are a commercial product now):

    Ubicomp helped kick off the recent boom in mobile computing research, although it is not the same thing as mobile computing, nor a superset nor a subset.

    Ubiquitous Computing has roots in many aspects of computing. In its current form, it was first articulated by Mark Weiser in 1988 at the Computer Science Lab at Xerox PARC. He describes it like this:

    Early Work in Ubiquitous Computing

    Ubiquitous Computing #1

    Inspired by the social scientists, philosophers, and anthropologists at PARC, we have been trying to take a radical look at what computing and networking ought to be like. We believe that people live through their practices and tacit knowledge so that the most powerful things are those that are effectively invisible in use. This is a challenge that affects all of computer science. Our preliminary approach: Activate the world. Provide hundreds of wireless computing devices per person per office, of all scales (from 1" displays to wall sized). This has required new work in operating systems, user interfaces, networks, wireless, displays, and many other areas. We call our work "ubiquitous computing". This is different from PDA's, dynabooks, or information at your fingertips. It is invisible, everywhere computing that does not live on a personal device of any sort, but is in the woodwork everywhere.

    Ubiquitous Computing #2

    For thirty years most interface design, and most computer design, has been headed down the path of the "dramatic" machine. Its highest ideal is to make a computer so exciting, so wonderful, so interesting, that we never want to be without it. A less-traveled path I call the "invisible"; its highest ideal is to make a computer so imbedded, so fitting, so natural, that we use it without even thinking about it. (I have also called this notion "Ubiquitous Computing", and have placed its origins in post-modernism.) I believe that in the next twenty years the second path will come to dominate. But this will not be easy; very little of our current systems infrastructure will survive. We have been building versions of the infrastructure-to-come at PARC for the past four years, in the form of inch-, foot-, and yard-sized computers we call Tabs, Pads, and Boards. Our prototypes have sometimes succeeded, but more often failed to be invisible. From what we have learned, we are now explorting some new directions for ubicomp, including the famous "dangling string" display.

    ========

    "Dedicated to the memory of Mark Weiser and Alan Turing"

    -Don

    --
    Take a look and feel free: http://www.PieMenu.com
  48. "Calm Technology" and the "Dangling String" by SimHacker · · Score: 2
    Calm Technology

    Author: Jim Harris
    Posted: 11/6/2000; 4:57:21 PM
    Topic: Calm Technology

    [Illustration of the Dangling String display]

    Calm Technology is what I call the goal of creating technology that truly honors the full model of human beings. I like this name because it begins with a word, "calm", that points us inward to the domain where we are truly human, and only secondarily mentions technology. Unlike ubiquitous computing, calm technology does not name a method, but a goal. Calm technology stands in sharp contrast to the enfranticing PC of today.

    More from Mark Weiser.

    Weiser comments on Dangling String: "Created by artist Natalie Jeremijenko, the "Dangling String" is an 8 foot piece of plastic spaghetti that hangs from a small electric motor mounted in the ceiling. The motor is electrically connected to a nearby Ethernet cable, so that each bit of information that goes past causes a tiny twitch of the motor. A very busy network causes a madly whirling string with a characteristic noise; a quiet network causes only a small twitch every few seconds. Placed in an unused corner of a hallway, the long string is visible and audible from many offices without being obtrusive."

    Check out The Coming of Age of Calm Technology, by Mark Weiser and John Seely Brown.

    ========

    -Don

    --
    Take a look and feel free: http://www.PieMenu.com
  49. Mark Weiser on "Calm Technology" by SimHacker · · Score: 2
    Opening Keynote Speech
    The Invisible Interface: Increasing the Power of the Environment through Calm Technology
    Mark Weiser
    Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC)
    Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
    Email: weiser@parc.xerox.com

    The information technology revolution, fifty years old, is an infant in the scale of human affairs. It is the culmination of the 350-year tradition of Descartes and Modernism, which created an explosion of technology that also threatens sometimes to bury human beings in its rubble. The characteristics of the modern PC are symptomatic of this entire trend: incredible power within a narrow technical domain, but also isolation from the world, difficulty of use, pulling of us into it and away from other people, distortions of wisdom by what can be digitally measured. This workshop is part of the antidote. Here we bring together many of the leading practitioners of the twenty-first century world-after-the-PC, a world after modernism, a world that is characterized by technology in its proper place, not dominating, but cooperating. A world fundamentally more spiritual, and more calming, than today. Here at this workshop we must avoid the academic tendency to fractionalize, to divide, to emphasize our differences. We are on a common mission: how to create technology that truly honors humans. The challenge dwarfs our disagreements.

    Ten years ago I started on a journey I call Ubiquitous Computing (UC). I am pleased to see that many people at this workshop took some inspiration from UC, and it has been much improved by your many contributions. UC took its inspiration from an anthropological critique of the PC, which said that an isolating, desocializing, distancing technology would eventually change to accommodate human needs. UC tried to anticipate that change by a series of experiments of putting computers into the environment, starting with wall-sized screens, and moving to book-sized and pocket-sized interactive devices. Our focus was on invisibility, at disappearing the "computer" to let the pure human interaction come forward. I must admit to you, largely we failed. Oh, we learned a great deal about user interfaces, radio systems, hand-held design, pen systems, mobile networks, low-cost electronics, batteries, etc, and by the standards of technological excellence and impact we succeeded very well.

    Ubiquitous computing is coming to pass, and our work is widely cited. But we did not succeed at creating the invisibility we craved. We did not because we did not appreciate the enormity of the challenge, primarily the challenge of a proper model of the human being for whom we were designing.

    From the work of all of us here at this workshop, we are getting closer to understanding the right model of a human being, a model that would teach us how to put technology in the background, invisibly. From my own work, and from reading your work, I get this model: Consider a human being as a kind of iceberg. Above the water, sticking out into conscious attention, are those objects and thoughts of which we are currently aware. Below the surface, rooting those thoughts, is a much deeper foundation of tacit assumptions and knowledge. At every moment that we go about our conscious affairs, we are relying upon that deep tacit foundation. For example, as you read this text you are taking in whole words, perhaps even whole concepts. To do this you rely on a tacit base of visual processing, line perception, font perception, grammar, word senses, and so on. What is below the surface of the iceberg is the much larger part of what makes us smart, and makes us human. I call what is above the surface the "center". I call what is below the "periphery".

    Now there are some important characteristics of the center and periphery. First, the more the periphery is engaged, the smarter we are. No amount of conscious working out can replace the intuitions of the expert. The smartest people are the ones who have built up the thickest periphery, and can apply it quickly to new problems. A fully engaged periphery also goes by the name of "flow state", familiar to athletes. Second, we are constantly moving items into and out of the periphery. Millisecond by millisecond what was just periphery becomes center, and then back again. To move perception in and out quickly is a source of great power and comfort. Third, take the periphery away and we are crippled. Imagine looking at the world through narrow tubes taped to our eyes, blocking peripheral vision: you would stumble, and be constantly surprised, and tire quickly. Digital technology in the PC is like those tubes: it presents a view excessively stripped of periphery.

    This model of center and periphery leads to a humble view of the role of technology in human affairs. The ineffable complexity of a given person's active iceberg dominates any situation. The role of technology is to fit in, and not just fit in with what is above the surface, but with what is below as well. In fact fitting with the periphery is far more important, because that is a thicker and richer domain by far than mere conscious attention, and it is also determinative of conscious attention.

    "Calm Technology" is what I call the goal of creating technology that truly honors the full model of human beings. I like this name because it begins with a word, "calm", that points us inward to the domain where we are truly human, and only secondarily mentions technology. Unlike ubiquitous computing, "calm technology" does not name a method, but a goal. "Calm technology" stands in sharp contrast to the enfranticing PC of today.

    When one follows the iceberg down below the surface, one finds not only tacit knowledge, but also the everyday environment. Part of what lies in the periphery is the situation around us, the physical (and cognitive and emotional) affordances of the everyday world. And this is why a workshop on cooperative buildings is at the cutting edge of twenty-first century life. Because it is our buildings that are the primary physical environment of everyday life.

    Is most technology designed today to honor the periphery? Is most information technology encalming? Regretfully not. But in the domain of cooperative buildings, we find very smart and innovative thinkers who are taking this step. Many of you will not find the model I propose above new, because I got it in part from reading your papers. By expressing it to you, I want to move us towards agreement on our common challenge, so that at this workshop we stand on each others shoulders, not each others toes. Let us work together to create a twenty-first century of intense calm. Thank you.

    -Mark Weiser

    ====

    -Don

    --
    Take a look and feel free: http://www.PieMenu.com
  50. "Thin Servers", IPV6 address space by SimHacker · · Score: 2
    From The Coming Age of Calm Technology by Mark Weiser and John Seely Brown:

    There is much talk today about "thin clients," meaning lightweight Internet access devices costing only a few hundred dollars. But Ubiquitous Computing will see the creation of thin servers, costing only tens of dollars or less, that put a full Internet server into every household appliance and piece of office equipment. The next generation Internet protocol, IPv6[5], can address more than a thousand devices for every atom on the earth's surface[6]. We will need them all.

    ====

    -Don

    --
    Take a look and feel free: http://www.PieMenu.com
  51. Re:Imagine a Beowulf ... So what? by SimHacker · · Score: 2
    Narrowly focusing your attention on a Beowulf cluster of Linux computers totally misses the point and ignores the real meaning of Ubiquitous Computing, Calm Technology, or Pervasive Computing as it's being called these days.

    The trivial, uninteresting detail that the system is currently implemented by a "dramatic" machine, a Beowulf cluster of Linux computers, hidden away in a server room somewhere out of sight, is the least important thing about the research, and totally misses the point.

    But it's just fashionible to mention Linux in a newspaper article like that, to wind up the anti-microsoft kids, so you get slashdotted with lots of free publicity. Otherwise, slashdot would never carry an article about Ubiquitous Computing that didn't mention Linux.

    Mark Weiser wrote the following definition of Ubiquitous Computing in 1988:

    For thirty years most interface design, and most computer design, has been headed down the path of the "dramatic" machine. Its highest ideal is to make a computer so exciting, so wonderful, so interesting, that we never want to be without it. A less-traveled path I call the "invisible"; its highest ideal is to make a computer so imbedded, so fitting, so natural, that we use it without even thinking about it. (I have also called this notion "Ubiquitous Computing", and have placed its origins in post-modernism.) I believe that in the next twenty years the second path will come to dominate. But this will not be easy; very little of our current systems infrastructure will survive. We have been building versions of the infrastructure-to-come at PARC for the past four years, in the form of inch-, foot-, and yard-sized computers we call Tabs, Pads, and Boards. Our prototypes have sometimes succeeded, but more often failed to be invisible. From what we have learned, we are now explorting some new directions for ubicomp, including the famous "dangling string" display.

    -Mark Weiser

    ====

    -Don

    --
    Take a look and feel free: http://www.PieMenu.com
  52. No it's not. Jokes are funny, not predictable. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Farting after you eat baked beans isn't a joke, it's just passing gas. So are the predictable knee-jerk-off reactions on slashdot.

  53. Hooboy by Merovign · · Score: 1

    Well, as far as conference rooms go, we could be talking some useful, voluntary commercial products here - as per the previous post with the automatic HVAC. Companies will pay for this kind of thing, and it's their own fault if the FBI is listening.

    Of course, if your meetings are run by monkeys, giving the monkeys PDAs, automatic lighting, and centrally controlled mike/PA systems won't do much good.

    With regards to the "sensors everywhere" syndrome, well, I hope you don't have a pacemaker, because the area is clear, we can talk. :)

    Could you imagine how often those sensors would be destroyed? It would be impossibly expensive, just like those red light cameras that keep getting CB caps shot through them...

  54. I agree with drew_kime: not very funny. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Drew, you're right: that's not very funny at all. And it also wouldn't have been funny even if it really wasn't a cluster. Two un-funnies just don't make a funny. Humor doesn't work that way. Making a fool of yourself does, though.

  55. Xerox PARC, not Parc Place. by SimHacker · · Score: 2, Informative
    Mark Weiser was the director of Xerox PARC Computer Science Lab, when he first described Ubiquitous Computing in 1988.

    The article in Scientific American you saw "like a bajzillion eons ago" was probably the one written about the research at Xerox PARC by Mark Weiser, "The Computer for the Twenty-First Century," Scientific American, pp. 94-10, September 1991.

    Parc Place was a Xerox PARC spinoff, that made a commercial product out of Smalltalk, which was originally developed at Xerox PARC long before Mark ran the lab. As far as I know, Parc Place didn't have much to do with Ubiquitous Computing -- they just sold a version of the SmallTalk programming language.

    Speaking of pioneering influential Xerox PARC research, has anyone else noticed the striking similarities between Microsoft's ".NET" and Xerox PARC's "Portable Common Runtime"?

    -Don

    --
    Take a look and feel free: http://www.PieMenu.com
    1. Re:Xerox PARC, not Parc Place. by Ocelot+Wreak · · Score: 1
      Hey, thanks!
      I'm getting old (or at least I'm the oldest fogie at this company), and I forgot about the distinction between Parc Place and Xerox PARC.
      Too bad that everyone (Jobs, Gates, et al) stole everything but the carpets on the floor at PARC. Xerox could have been the leader and made a bundle if they could have discovered how to commercialize all that wonderful research...
      *sigh*

      --
      "I figure you're here 'cause you need some whacko who's willing to stick his finger in the fan. So who are we helping?
  56. The URL for the SmartSpace web page is ... by martial · · Score: 1

    http://www.nist.gov/smartspace/

    If you have questions about the system, please feel
    free to ask.

    --
    -- Martial MICHEL
  57. More Pervasive Computing... by hyyx · · Score: 1

    I have been interested in this topic for quite some time now, and I'd thought I'd share a white paper [PDF] from IBM Pervasive Computing that is along the same lines and goes into much greater detail. Enjoy

  58. Not one mention of Andy Hopper? by Taurine · · Score: 2

    I'm amazed the story doesn't mention Andy Hopper's work at what is currently called 'AT&T Labs' (which has had a number of owners over the years, and is _not_ something that came out of AT&T).

    Andy Hopper's early work at Cambridge University involved the building of the Cambridge Ring, an early internet. He also created the first implementation of something close to the heart of ever /. reader - ethernet on a chip.

    Over the years he and his companies have done much work on networking technologies, and the applications they enable. Pervasive computing, or sentient computing as they call it, is one of these applications.

    The massively popular remote-control desktop software VNC was a product of this research. It was created so that the sentient computing system could detect which computer monitor you are nearest to and facing, then export your computer's display to it. Once it was decided that this software on its own held little financial promise Andy decided it should be open sourced, to generate good will, further the project and raise its profile. He doesn't believe in sitting on code that you are not fully exploiting.