Slashdot Mirror
Slashback: India, Kartoo, Orbs
Attribution where due. Frank Bajak, Technology Editor for The Associated Press, wrote with a correction to last week's post "CNN Talks WIth ACLU Tech Maven Barry Steinhardt," writing "CNN didn't speak to Steinhardt. We, The Associated Press, did. CNN merely posted our story." Thanks for pointing that out.
If it's an orb, it had better do some glowing! shakes writes "Since the recent outbreak of interest in the Ambient Orb, I took a moment to homebrew one using a PICchip. The source code is currently incomplete as it does not support serial communication, but that will come in the next day or so."
Please secure the locking safety mechanism, or call an attendant if you have trouble. BoomZilla writes "I was intrigued with the home made roller coaster report on Slashdot last year. Just the sort of thing I *need* for the kids. Problem was that I had neither the skill nor the time to build such a beast. I've recently become re-inspired by the Back Yard Roller Coaster site. It's short on details (just a few pictures and a video) - but long on firing up my enthusiasm. Straightforward design. Easy construction. Modest cost. All I need is a hill (check) and the patience and understanding of my wife (stand by for news on that...)"
Oooh, look at the pictures. The visually intriguing meta search engine Kartoo is now more accessable to flash-poor browsers (and lazy or stubborn flash-avoiding users). Alexandre Dos Santos writes "Kartoo now offers an alternative to the regular flash display. The html version is only in beta. It offers the same functionality as the flash version, i.e. you can add or subtract keywords. It's obviously an attempt at reaching out to users who are on machines without flash, or very slow connections.
The option to use html only had been there before, but now Kartoo seems to push this more to the front...and important point...Without sponsored links."
Keeping their options open, or closing doors? bigmase521 writes "LinuxWorld has an article with statements from the Minister of Information Technology and Communications of India stating that India is NOT going to support Open Source alternatives Government-Wide. However, different branches of the government are still considering open source as their primary computing solutions. So I guess unfortunately, it seems as if Mr. Gates' Bribe err 'heartfelt visit' may have worked after all."
with so many damn words to read in order to form a relevant witty comment! damn you ADD!
(and lazy or stubborn flash-avoiding users).
Good god man! don't you understand that Flash is the great evil that will destroy the internet?!? oh, don't worry my poor poor bandwith, everything will be all right.
--I don't want the world, I just want your half.
I'm surprised... there was a new RFC released... big deal... something about a bit defining security ('evil bit', I think)... I don't have more details, but I'm sure someone can comment? I was hoping to see it on Slashback at least...
This guy didn't even read the article, or is simply flame-baiting, what the minister said isn't too bad.
Mr.Shourie, the Minister for IT, said, "Do not expect a general decision from government on this," and said that each branch of the government would make a case-by-case decision on which software to use.
Remember software is a tool, not a religion. There are some cases where closed-source may be more appropriate.
For example - "If there is an important security software that we need urgently, for example, we are more likely to buy it, than spend time deciding whether we should develop it in India in open source," Shourie added.
All bow to his Noodliness!! His Noodle Appendage has touched me!
First posts tend to congregate towards the top due to the faster routing preference given by the evil bit being said.
I say we write the IETF and tell them to make a first post bit that gets routed slower. It will end the problem once and for all!
I plan on trying to put one together when it comes back, if it's not too expensive (like, under $20... college student here)
Username taken, please choose another one.
Nope, you're the first loser.
Looking at those pics the kid seems to be going quite fast yet has little restraint. This would need to be resurrected on a larger coaster. He does get going quite fast as in the video but the bumper stops him. What I want to see is the video when that bumper finally breaks and he goes flying off the end into a tree.
Checking out my form of escapism.
My kids love Kartoo. It's between that and askjeeves kids.
India had lots of brain power but no money. If proprietary software was allowed to take root in India would still be poor in computer knowledge.
India booted out IBM and mainframes in favor of Unix some 30 years ago. It was kinda boon to fledgling Indian software engineers because Unix made it possible to hook up a dirt cheap terminal to a low cost server. This made computing available to lots of students in universities that had no money for proprietary software. And everybody learnt the computers on the Unix platform.
I hope Linux other would do they same to poor countries. Many developing countries need something that they can use as a stepping stone to develop themeselves without being exploited by developed countries.
Long live, open source and free software.
I was hoping that my writeup on the transliteration of numbers of arbitrary bases would be included in slashback to continue my avalance of visitors. This morning I was up to 36 unique visitors. Not bad for staying up to 3:00 am writing.
Hey, maybe this counts as making into a slashback!
Michael.
Linux : Mac
Frank Bajak, Technology Editor for The Associated Press, wrote with a correction
/. ?
The AP reads
Now, THAT'S news.
"If, therefore, any be unhappy, let him remember that he is unhappy by reason of himself alone."
~Epictetus
The track is built from 2" PVC pipe
I'm not sure I would want to ride on anything that is on tracks made from PVC pipe. It does look fun though.
On a side note, his web page seems to be holding up surprisingly well considering it is hosted on a Road Runner account, and has a 2MB video on the front page.
His visit may have been unnecessary.
I'm curious to hear from Indian IT folks on this, but I have some ideas about Free Software and India, based on my experience with IT in the Middle East.
First, in an economy where there is no real fear of legal action for illegal copying, and where a Microsoft licence costs a month's wages or more, you can expect illegally copied MS products to be everywhere. In such an environment, there is little incentive to use free (as in beer) products, because all products cost nothing to procure.
Second, in an economy where corruption is endemic down to the lowest clerical levels, decisions are often made on a, um, non-technical basis. (Bofors, anyone?) Free software may be at a disadvantage here, because there is not always a for-profit entity to ``encourage'' a product's adoption. I can't really see the Apache team buying anyone a villa.
Given both of these, I would not expect Free software to be a major player in Indian IT. Indeed, in contrast with (for example) East and Central Europe, Latin America, or East Asia, South Asia doesn't seem to be making any major contributions to Free software, despite having large numbers of trained programmers.
Am I on the right track here?
In principio creauit Linus Linucem.
Did the poster and/or the editor that checked the story ( yeah ) not notice the small message at the end that might normally be considered to be important in attributing it to one agency or another.
It ends with "Competence". It begins with "In".
Basically, this depends on how you view computer technology. If you see the labor being primarily one of doing standard programming jobs (i.e. the same jobs are repeated over and over again) then this is much the same as "The Green Revolution", which was supposed to bring agricultural developments into Africa. While on the other hand, you can look at this technology as similar to the arms race. Once the US developed the neutron bomb, they did not just give it away to the Russians. I fall somewhere in between - the research that has gone into all this work needs to be rewarded (with more grants for more research) but third world countries can't be crippled with a buy-in price that's beyond their GDP.
And just because a company makes a profit from a third world country does not mean that that country is being exploited.
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
If the poster really wants his own personal rollercoaster ride, I suggest an easier alternative would be to try getting a job in the IT industry right now.
If those high-speed changes of direction and constant managerial G-forces don't result in whiplash and a strong desire to hurl, then you are a stronger man than I.
(bullshit link)
This is a vote to remove the AC
Buttsex.
The minister basically said that each department would have to determine how to handle each piece of software. And that they wanted to keep all options open for many types of software.
;)) and that we will see a more solid support for OSS in the future :^)
IMO, this is a good thing. It will ensure that proprietary software can compete with open source (though in India, probably not too well
LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
an acceptable opportunity to bash microsoft in a /. forum. who'd of thunk it?
The South will rise again...
There seem to be a number of reasons for this - one is that flash is pretty standard - most versions of flash work alike - much more than can be said for html on internet exploder, netscape, opera, mozilla, phoenix and so on - all of which exist in various versions with various oddnesses.
Another is that web developers put time into learning flash and thus have an intellectual investment in continuing to use it (and I'll refrain from commenting on how much of their intellectual capital they've used up in the process - for some people learning new technology seems to open new ways to think, for too many it seems to close them off).
There's the notion that flash provides a spiffy keen looking interface full of motion, color and all kinds of "cleverness" That these are usually ugly does not seem to matter much. That the clever interactions are usually almost completely unfathomable by the users matters less. That the files can take forever to download and use up lots of processor is the users fault - not the developers. My favorite quote from a web developer came in response to a comment on my part about the download time needed for his idea website. He said "Well, if they can't download it or watch it, they don't deserve to see my website."
Finally there is the notion that a web developer can determine more exactly what flash provides the user - things like eliminating the ability to save images, presenting exactly what the developer/marketroid wants the user to see in the order they choose. Don't want those users to mess all that up.
For all these reasons, I suspect that we'll be seeing more and more flash and similar products. Indeed, I'm seeing many web sites that are flash only. And I'm wondering if the time that this could be effectively countered has already passed (but then I'm a cynical old fart - all grown up from the cynical young fart I used to be).
Or is there some one else living in the Bay Area feel like beating the crap out of those people who have back-yards looking like huge forests?
-LM
let's do this like buddhists
Flash != web. Much as macromedia would like you to believe, it ain't; it is a highly proprietary, expensive-to-author format. The plugin's a pain in the ass even on Windows or Macintosh- you're always having to upgrade it, or you've got the wrong particular "flavor".
I wish web designers would get it through their thick skulls- flash is okay if you want to do some southpark webtoon, but it should be a MINOR part of the site- never something that controls navigation, or represents all of the site content. Same for Javascript.
Throwing me to a "you need to have flash installed to view this site" is one sure-fire way to guarantee I'm going to visit your competitor's site. Flash gets you nothing- it's just for lazy designers who are too stupid to learn how to properly code HTML.
Please help metamoderate.
While those of us who have ideological sympathies with RMS may not be happy to hear the Indian decision, it is nonetheless worth pointing out that a significant economic goal of free software -- choice -- is very definitely being fostered by the widespread availability of free software.
If Microsoft is forced to lower its prices, relax its licensing conditions, or make "donations" to state governments (in lieu of the taxes they don't pay), then this is all to the good. Microsoft is finally being forced to compete, which was a major and laudable goal of the ESR/Open Source half of the movement.
It's not a total loss for the Free Software side, either. That Microsoft is being forced to compete is a concrete sign that we are making credible inroads -- that the software equivalent of the Republican Guard, as it were, is withdrawing into the streets of Redmond for a last stand. The outcome, however, is not in doubt.
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
lame, i give it a 2 on the troll-o-meter.
try to be more creative. how about something like:
http://www.not-a-picture-of-a-guy's-ass.com/
_
joe_[b]ruin
Anyone still have a _working_ mirror of the original Blue Flash coaster pics? All the mirrors listed are broken.
The pics of the Blue Flash are way more professional looking than this coaster. I'm working on convincing my S.O. to let me build one of these puppies with metal made from melted hard drive platters in my home made forge so I'm gonna need something better than 2x4's and PVC.
But MS also pays Indian NG organizations to monitor and report piracy. There is severe lobbying by MS to the govt. of India to legally act against privacy!
I refuse to install flash6. I'd say that more than half the popup/under ads I run into want to install Flash6. Click no: bye. No bandwidth-sucking, resource-slurping unwanted advertisements. Yet very few flash-enabled sites require v6. Many will serve a v5 swf.
And I agree with the parent. How many flash-enabled sites have a 'skip_intro' link. Hello, if that many people want to get to the meat and ignore the gimcracks, why pay to author that junk ?
Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority. - Thomas Huxley (1825-1895)
Hence Flash. Hence most "official" sites for movies, cars, etc. are useless without Flash and Javajunk.
If you follow the link, you can click to report them as a spammer, posting their link to message boards in an off-topic manner.
This will likely get their account in the game yanked. Which is what they deserve for breaking the rules of the game, right?
In anticipation of RR not appreciating the opportunity to host another Slashdotting, here's a mirror:
Coaster Mirror
enjoy
(I'll put up an Orbs mirror too if I can get the files)
In Mr.Shourie's India, SOFTWARE BUYS YOU.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
For me, your Mirror site is much much much slower than the original Back Yard Roller Coaster site...
just lettin ya know.
A zip of the Orb files is available here:
Orb Mirror
All I need is a hill (check) and the patience and understanding of my wife (stand by for news on that...)
:)
I know, it takes us years (if not decades) longer than average folk, but someday every geek meets his one and only
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
Since the recent outbreak of interest in the Ambient Orb, I took a moment to homebrew one using a PICchip. ... and meanwhile, his homebrewed PICchip webserver was destroyed...
I hereby place the above post in the public domain.
I think you're right, but I see the same picture from a different angle....
Linux is more free market than Microsoft is, because MS relies on an artificial construct called "intellectual property" that Linux doesn't.
IP puts unnatural limits on knowledge distribution and information, and is more like a government regulation than a genuine free market property right.
In that sense, it only makes sense that Linux would see it's greatest influence in the biggest free markets first - the USA. Not that other people and countries can't use it, but the real value it offers in terms of standardisation, collaberation, and customization will hit 1st world countries the hardest just like it did with the internet.
The pipe is lightweight, strong, and easy to bend (with a heat gun - here in Phoenix, AZ you could just let it sit in the sun in July). I think the guys track design needs to be different, though.
I would go with using 4x4 posts in concrete footers sunk at least 3 feet into the ground. For tall supports, I would "stack" the 4x4s end to end, and use 2x4s to "surround" and join the posts together, using long lag bolts or something (so the final post would be 8x8 in thickness, approximately). I would brace the bottom of the post with a "teepee" style angle bracing.
To attach the PVC pipe rails to the posts, I would build spanners (or whatever they are called in roller coaster parlance) from plywood (probably 3/4 inch exterior grade), and the track would have "joins" at these points (where the rail is split) - at these joins I would cut the pipe in such a manner as to build some form of inner joiner connector that could be bolted to the spanner, but leave the rest of the pipe intact on the top side so there was little to no gap. The pipe would be loosely connected to the joiners (which would extend at least 8 inches or more into the pipe), so that thermal expansion would not hinder the setup.
More "floating" spanners would be constructed (probably from 3/8 inch plywood) to keep the track separated properly in between the support poles. I would also have a third support pipe running along the bottom (just like you see in most steal coasters today - it forms a very strong triangular cross-section).
Done right, with good PVC pipe, and painted, it would be a hell of a coaster. It would be pretty cheap to build - most of the cost would be in the wood, not the pipe. If you used ABS pipe (which you can sometimes get with thicker walls, so it is stronger for "rail use"), it would be slightly more costly, but not really much - and you would get to have black track to boot!
Looking at these coasters makes me wish I had the money to buy a 40-acre plot in the desert to set a home on and build one - someday, perhaps...
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
The article states that India is not going to PREFER Open Source over proprietary, not exclude Open Source altogether. Ah, the joys of corporate sponsorship are many, like the ability to ignore the future of a whole nation for the sake of a happy few. Oh no, that was Bush..
I developed another solution, also using a PIC - it's wireless, accepts commands from a computer, and runs with a nifty brightness-holding circuit that allows asynchronous setting of colors. I'm almost done with it, too - just have to work out some problems with the serial timing (apparently wireless doesn't send a perfect signal through... I just hope the powers that be consider it a good enough story when it finally is finished, along with a pretty web page.
Here in Egypt Microsoft donated a large amount of money to some law enforcement agency to make them crack on users with illegal copies of Microsoft Office, very small business which cannot afford to pay for the license were closed and all PCs were seized, but as the opensource movement gain momentum I personally started advising all my clients (l'm a developer) to switch to Open Office which supports Arabic nicely on it's Windows version, another dangerous tactic employed by the Borg was to literally giveaway Visual Studio to CS and engineering students...result? a whole generation of VB monkeys who think that the world starts and ends with Microsoft. Bare in mind the Egypt is a poor country and that the dollar is raising continuously against the Egyptian pound, and that we import critical things like say... FOOD, ahh Cancer medicine?? So opensource worked just fine, the only thing that troubled us here is a corrupt government that accepts bribes to make Microsoft richer...and richer.
Phil and Alex's guide to web publishing makes a good point about flash - search engines won't index it (yet). So people are going to have a hard time trying to find your content online.
(a copy of the relevant chapter can be found here. The whole book should be compulsory reading for any web developer)
Either to beat the crap out of them, or just so you can buy a new 2-story house for $85,000-- you'll still have to move.