Does anyone else see the similarity between this and the question above about "Why are we still using gasoline?"?
In mathematical terms, both are trying so find the minimum in an equation with lots and lots of variables. More precisely, both are trying to change the coefficients to give the desired answer rather than the current one. And do it while creating the minimum number of dis-continuities.
Fifty years ago, the same could have been said about women entering the medical field -- as physicians, not nurses. Many were refused entry to medical schools, internships and residencies based only on gender. Others were discouraged by family, friends and peers because being a physician was "a man's job". Women are still underrepresented in surgery specialties. However, the last numbers I saw showed that more than 50% of US medical school students are women. It takes time.
The same has been true for law school.
There are still plenty of engineering managers and educators that don't believe women can perform as well as male engineers. And they aren't always subtle about it. I work with a woman (BSEE, BS Bio Med) who came to work in marketing because of how she was treated during her internship in Engineering. Our gain, their loss.
For those of you looking for a companion/mate that can code, get a life. If you can't have a life away from your keyboard, get a job coding for a porn site.
If someone posted a copywrited article from The Washington Post, Wired, Salon or news.com, and the publisher knew about it, he would be obligated to tell you to stop doing that. That is how they defend their copywrite. You can't say that because the article is published in a journal, newspaper, magazine or even the internet, that anyone can duplicate and distribute the copywrited material. That's the law. No problem here.
Microsoft published a document and is utilizing a new law to protect their copywrite on that document -- just like The Washington Post would do.
Was the material copywritable? It is for the courts to decide. New laws need to be tested, refined, changed and sometimes repealed. Its a process. Just like creating software. You think about it, write it, test it, fix it and sometimes throw it away.
You are participating in the process by expressing your opinions and (hopefully) contacting your elected representatives with clear, rational comments about their legislation.
Is Microsoft the good guy or the bad guy here? I don't know yet. But, they are participants in this process just like you are.
This is not something to get emotional about. Enjoy the intellectual challenge. Read and comment. Lets participate in history and have a good time.
When people see hard copy evidence of how bad the picture is on a standard TV, they will be convinced to drop another $2,000 or so for a HDTV. After all, what's the point of printing Babe Watch screens if you can't see all the important details.
There was a whole issue of Byte devoted to use of computers by the handicapped -- probably 17 or 18 years ago. Back when it was 350 pages, full of ads and great technical articles. In a lot of ways, Slashdot has replaced a lot of its (Byte's) functions.
Anyway, as far as ideas, there is not a whole lot that has changed. However, we now have the technology to actually implement some of them. Hope you can find a copy.
Airplanes can be landed using only the GPS satellite transmitters for position information. The precision can be enhanced using differential GPS which utilizes a ground based transmitter that broadcasts an error signal. However, this signal is useless if all the satellite signals are lost.
Thousands of pilots and millions of passengers will be unhappy to hear that the GPS systems, approved for both en-route navigation and approaches, are dangerous. Actually, such systems use multiple satellites for position and the probability of failure of more than one satellite is vanishingly small. Smaller, in fact, than the probability of failure of the single glideslope or localizer transmitter typical on an instrument landing system.
Where have I been? Out flying airplanes, of course. I watched an early hocky game with the electronic puck. More annoying than useful. I'd rather watch a play station.
Elevator position sensors. Eliminates all those pesky micro switches, limit switches, relays and wires.
Three Dimensional Pointing Device. GPS receiver on finger tip. Feeds back to computer via infrared. Great for 3D Games. Just wave your arm around, point and shoot.
Collision Avoidance System for Cars. I know exactlly where I am, where you are, where the poles and bridges are. My on-board computer knows where the brake pedal is. No more big bangs.
Where did I leave my keys? Now you'll know. What happened to the dog (cat, gerbil, hamster, guinnea pig)? Now you'll know.
And finally, a solution for trying to follow the puck on televised hockey matches -- not to mention the ball in golf. The possibilities are endless.
Technology has rendered the entire distribution system for recorded music unnecessary. Unfortunately, disassembling it will be painful for all involved -- lost jobs, lost revenue, obsolete equipment. These legal skirmishes are part of the change mechanism. Some slowing change, some promoting it. In five years we'll all be saying "Remember..."
1. Product development requires a specification based on what it is intended to do. This will define the hardware and software required.
2. The first REAL version will appear several years down the road since cobbling something together from current hardware appears from the comments to be unreasonable. This will help on cost since that always goes down with time.
3. Functions: Word processor, spreadsheet and database -- not today's state of the art, but something like MS Works. Reader equivalent to Rocket e-Reader to save on printing, replacing and carrying around all those textbooks. Web browser equivalent of Netscape, IE, who cares as long as it works.
4. Hardware: You don't need a supercomputer to support those functions. The trade off is going to be between horsepower and battery life while keeping cost down. Making it rugged will be the real engineering challenge.
All that with a manufacturing cost of $300, five years from now in huge quantities seems very reasonable. Cost per school to upgrade teachers and install networks etc will probably be greater. Lets hope we all get to see it.
Lets put some real world perspective on things here. Individuals have acquired a product, taken it apart, evaluated it and published their findings. Sounds like something car magazines, camera magazines, Consumer Reports, the Consumer Products Safety Commission, Department of Transportation, computer magazines, newspapers, the Food and Drug Administration, National Transportation Safety Commission, Sixty Minutes, 20/20, CNN.... have been doing for years. Up to now, nobody but the tobacco industry have been successful in suppressing such activity.
Can you imagine this type of response if Car and Driver Magazine wrote a bad review of a shock absorber? The magazine has an obligation to exercise care and be responsible in their invstigation and reporting. The component manufacturer would have a tough time stopping publication.
Now the linguists will need to create some new tenses. The French have had "actions completed in the past" and "actions started in the past and continuing into the future" (passe compose and plu-perfect as I recall).
Now we can have actions started in the future and completed in the past.
Maglev has the benefit of using the Maglev "mechanism" to both levitate the train and move it forward -- replacing the track, wheels and engine of a traditional train. The WIG effect is used to replace the track and wheels. Propellers driven by electric, diesel-electric or turbine engines are needed for thrust. And yes, they will be noisy. Spend a few minutes on the ramp at the local airport. Better yet, talk to someone who has heard that hovercraft that takes passengers and cars across the English Channel. It uses BIG propellers to drive it forward. Maglev would have none of this noise.
One reason we are looking for an alternative to current wheel/track design has to do with the degree of precision required in designing, building and maintaining a track intended for use at very high speeds. Because Maglev (and WIG) are non-contact techniques, they can get by with looser specs for their "tracks".
If you had the choice between (a) putting physical cables under all the streets, driveways, sidewalks and rose bushes and (b) mounting a box on a pole and another in every attic, you would choose (b).
Then figure in the difference in cost and difficulty of upgrades and repairs -- are you still waiting for the cable company to install cable modems in your neighborhood? Again (b)
In places where there are no phones, no copper wires, certainly no fiber, rf (cellular) is what is being installed.
Bandwidth, like memory prices, disk size and processor speeds gets better every year. Qualcom (the folks who brought you digital cell phones) is offering digital bandwidths greater than 2.0 megs per user.
Ultimately, RF will be the winner. Why wait. Lets start now.
Slashdot Mirror
Does anyone else see the similarity between this and the question above about "Why are we still using gasoline?"?
In mathematical terms, both are trying so find the minimum in an equation with lots and lots of variables. More precisely, both are trying to change the coefficients to give the desired answer rather than the current one. And do it while creating the minimum number of dis-continuities.
Fifty years ago, the same could have been said about women entering the medical field -- as physicians, not nurses. Many were refused entry to medical schools, internships and residencies based only on gender. Others were discouraged by family, friends and peers because being a physician was "a man's job". Women are still underrepresented in surgery specialties. However, the last numbers I saw showed that more than 50% of US medical school students are women. It takes time.
The same has been true for law school.
There are still plenty of engineering managers and educators that don't believe women can perform as well as male engineers. And they aren't always subtle about it. I work with a woman (BSEE, BS Bio Med) who came to work in marketing because of how she was treated during her internship in Engineering. Our gain, their loss.
For those of you looking for a companion/mate that can code, get a life. If you can't have a life away from your keyboard, get a job coding for a porn site.
Call me back when shipments reach one percent of units sold.
If someone posted a copywrited article from The Washington Post, Wired, Salon or news.com, and the publisher knew about it, he would be obligated to tell you to stop doing that. That is how they defend their copywrite. You can't say that because the article is published in a journal, newspaper, magazine or even the internet, that anyone can duplicate and distribute the copywrited material. That's the law. No problem here.
Microsoft published a document and is utilizing a new law to protect their copywrite on that document -- just like The Washington Post would do.
Was the material copywritable? It is for the courts to decide. New laws need to be tested, refined, changed and sometimes repealed. Its a process. Just like creating software. You think about it, write it, test it, fix it and sometimes throw it away.
You are participating in the process by expressing your opinions and (hopefully) contacting your elected representatives with clear, rational comments about their legislation.
Is Microsoft the good guy or the bad guy here? I don't know yet. But, they are participants in this process just like you are.
This is not something to get emotional about. Enjoy the intellectual challenge. Read and comment. Lets participate in history and have a good time.
Brilliant!
One printer in every room of every hotel that offers on-screen checkout. Instant hard copy for your expense report. Brilliant!
... Brilliant!
Print out sale coupons from the Mega Grocery ad on TV. Brilliant!
Print out hard copy of the Taco Bell Pizza Ad complete with phone number and menu. Brilliant!
Print out tomorrow's weather forecast so you don't forget while you're sleeping. Brilliant!
And I'm sure that pay per view will figure out a way to have it print money. For them. Brilliant!
Those guys at HP are, well, they're
When people see hard copy evidence of how bad the picture is on a standard TV, they will be convinced to drop another $2,000 or so for a HDTV. After all, what's the point of printing Babe Watch screens if you can't see all the important details.
There was a whole issue of Byte devoted to use of computers by the handicapped -- probably 17 or 18 years ago. Back when it was 350 pages, full of ads and great technical articles. In a lot of ways, Slashdot has replaced a lot of its (Byte's) functions.
Anyway, as far as ideas, there is not a whole lot that has changed. However, we now have the technology to actually implement some of them. Hope you can find a copy.
Airplanes can be landed using only the GPS satellite transmitters for position information. The precision can be enhanced using differential GPS which utilizes a ground based transmitter that broadcasts an error signal. However, this signal is useless if all the satellite signals are lost.
Thanks
Thousands of pilots and millions of passengers will be unhappy to hear that the GPS systems, approved for both en-route navigation and approaches, are dangerous. Actually, such systems use multiple satellites for position and the probability of failure of more than one satellite is vanishingly small. Smaller, in fact, than the probability of failure of the single glideslope or localizer transmitter typical on an instrument landing system.
Where have I been? Out flying airplanes, of course. I watched an early hocky game with the electronic puck. More annoying than useful. I'd rather watch a play station.
Elevator position sensors. Eliminates all those pesky micro switches, limit switches, relays and wires.
Three Dimensional Pointing Device. GPS receiver on finger tip. Feeds back to computer via infrared. Great for 3D Games. Just wave your arm around, point and shoot.
Collision Avoidance System for Cars. I know exactlly where I am, where you are, where the poles and bridges are. My on-board computer knows where the brake pedal is. No more big bangs.
Where did I leave my keys? Now you'll know. What happened to the dog (cat, gerbil, hamster, guinnea pig)? Now you'll know.
And finally, a solution for trying to follow the puck on televised hockey matches -- not to mention the ball in golf. The possibilities are endless.
Irony: Accepting only students with high SAT scores into a non-accredited university.
Technology has rendered the entire distribution system for recorded music unnecessary. Unfortunately, disassembling it will be painful for all involved -- lost jobs, lost revenue, obsolete equipment. These legal skirmishes are part of the change mechanism. Some slowing change, some promoting it. In five years we'll all be saying "Remember ..."
And VHS will probably never replace Super Eight for all the same reasons.
1. Product development requires a specification based on what it is intended to do. This will define the hardware and software required.
2. The first REAL version will appear several years down the road since cobbling something together from current hardware appears from the comments to be unreasonable. This will help on cost since that always goes down with time.
3. Functions: Word processor, spreadsheet and database -- not today's state of the art, but something like MS Works. Reader equivalent to Rocket e-Reader to save on printing, replacing and carrying around all those textbooks. Web browser equivalent of Netscape, IE, who cares as long as it works.
4. Hardware: You don't need a supercomputer to support those functions. The trade off is going to be between horsepower and battery life while keeping cost down. Making it rugged will be the real engineering challenge.
All that with a manufacturing cost of $300, five years from now in huge quantities seems very reasonable. Cost per school to upgrade teachers and install networks etc will probably be greater. Lets hope we all get to see it.
"... rather than a general description for typewriters sold internationally."
What's a typewriter?
Lets put some real world perspective on things here. Individuals have acquired a product, taken it apart, evaluated it and published their findings. Sounds like something car magazines, camera magazines, Consumer Reports, the Consumer Products Safety Commission, Department of Transportation, computer magazines, newspapers, the Food and Drug Administration, National Transportation Safety Commission, Sixty Minutes, 20/20, CNN .... have been doing for years. Up to now, nobody but the tobacco industry have been successful in suppressing such activity.
Can you imagine this type of response if Car and Driver Magazine wrote a bad review of a shock absorber? The magazine has an obligation to exercise care and be responsible in their invstigation and reporting. The component manufacturer would have a tough time stopping publication.
Now the linguists will need to create some new tenses. The French have had "actions completed in the past" and "actions started in the past and continuing into the future" (passe compose and plu-perfect as I recall).
Now we can have actions started in the future and completed in the past.
That's $35 billion of sales, not taxes. Multiply by the tax rate to get taxes collected, divide by 50 states then by 40 counties.
Not nothing, but not all that much either.
Well said.
Maglev has the benefit of using the Maglev "mechanism" to both levitate the train and move it forward -- replacing the track, wheels and engine of a traditional train. The WIG effect is used to replace the track and wheels. Propellers driven by electric, diesel-electric or turbine engines are needed for thrust. And yes, they will be noisy. Spend a few minutes on the ramp at the local airport. Better yet, talk to someone who has heard that hovercraft that takes passengers and cars across the English Channel. It uses BIG propellers to drive it forward. Maglev would have none of this noise.
One reason we are looking for an alternative to current wheel/track design has to do with the degree of precision required in designing, building and maintaining a track intended for use at very high speeds. Because Maglev (and WIG) are non-contact techniques, they can get by with looser specs for their "tracks".
You need to work on your communication skills. These people are not stupid. They don't want to throw money away.
IF "you fail to communicate" AND "they do business with your competitor" THEN "you will go out of business"
Is this any less dumb than buying "the competitor's Java-bloated project"?
Perspective folks.
If you had the choice between (a) putting physical cables under all the streets, driveways, sidewalks and rose bushes and (b) mounting a box on a pole and another in every attic, you would choose (b).
Then figure in the difference in cost and difficulty of upgrades and repairs -- are you still waiting for the cable company to install cable modems in your neighborhood? Again (b)
In places where there are no phones, no copper wires, certainly no fiber, rf (cellular) is what is being installed.
Bandwidth, like memory prices, disk size and processor speeds gets better every year. Qualcom (the folks who brought you digital cell phones) is offering digital bandwidths greater than 2.0 megs per user.
Ultimately, RF will be the winner. Why wait. Lets start now.
Sounds like PBS for the internet. Who is going to write the grant request to get it started?
Lets get the damn telephones out of there too!