The company will initially try to commercialize the technology for using the battery as an emergency power source for computers, according to sources at NEC.
I'm suprised the first thing they're shooting for is the UPS market. I would have thought a bigger market would have been standard-sized batteries (AA, AAA, etc)
The article itself mentions many other uses, including RC cars, digital cameras, etc...
it is revealed early on that Tankado and the dead Japanese man in Spain are the same person. While this is perhaps unavoidable to push the plot along, I found it strange to have this happen so quickly.
And now I know that they're the same, even before I meet Tankado. Thanks, friendly book reviewer!;)
will be interesting to see how this works with non-MS email clients, esp on non-MS O/S's
As the article stated, "Microsoft says a free viewing program will be available for those who receive a protected document but are not using Office 2003."
However, since this is squarely targeted at corporate enviornments, I don't forsee this becoming a large problem.
Sure, it's bad for the end user information wants to be free blah blah blah, but companies want more control over where their information is going, and MS is providing it in this product. Don't want the FY04 budget leaked? Put a do-not-forward flag on it... Sure, you'll be able to screen-cap things, but casual copying will be prevented.
(We all know that protection can be circumvented by anyone with enough will... This is simply raising the bar for how much desire is necessary.)
That being said, I won't use it, but I'm sure there are corporations out there that will.
Interestingly enough, refrigerators are more efficient when they're full. They need something inside, or they'll short cycle frequently.
(Compressor starts, runs to get air temp down x degrees, and stops. Air temp rises quickly (in relation to things that are normally stored in a fridge) so it cycles again...)
Point by point... Googlehole No. 1: All Shopping, All the Time. If I'm searching for a Canon i950 review, I will type in "Canon i950 review", not Canon i950. If you're searching for "flowers" (the article's example) you'd better have a more concrete idea of what you're looking for...
Googlehole No. 2: Skewed Synonyms Search for Apple, get results from Apple computer, Fiona Apple etc? Maybe next time search for apple trees? Or "fruit and apple"?
Googlehole No. 3: Book Learning. How is it Google's fault if "almost no one is publishing entire books online in PDF form." If they're using a closed format, why is that Google's fault? They'd likely be in violation of copyright law if they searched/cached that data.
Homeland Security says the advantages include a reduction in the costs associated with deployment, implementation, and maintenance, while providing for a more standard desktop environment. In addition, the department says, the agreement provides it with a common E-mail app.
Oh boy! 140,000 carbon-copy XP boxes running Outlook! That's a huge, free server-farm for anyone that cracks it...;)
To many people, a computer is like a screwdriver. They could care less about it, they just want to pick it up, make it work, and toss it aside when they are done with it. It's unfortunate, yes, but that's just the way it is.
Why is this unfortunate? Do you want to know every nuance of the car you drive, just to get to work? How about when you watch TV? Do you really need to know about NTSC vs PAL? No, you want to watch TV.
Computers should be no different. People just want to send grandma some pictures, surf the web, type a paper, whatever... Not spend forever updating their AV package, SP updates, etc.
A computer is a tool. It is merely a means to an end.
I use Bruce Powel Douglass' Real-Time UML, Second Edition, Developing Efficient Objects for Embedded Systems.
It only has 1 chapter on UML statecharts, but after reading through it, I was able to describe in 1 diagram LCD behavior that used to take ~20 weakly worded requirements. (Shall do this, except when this, etc...)
If you're having trouble being explicit and clear in requirements, I would highly recommend looking at statecharts. (Picture speaks a thousand words, eh?)
I may have more culinary talents than most, but if I know that I'm going to be too busy to make dinner, I'll toss a slab of beef and some potatos in the crock pot in the morning, and eat whenever I want to at night.
And it sure as heck tastes better than anything that comes out of the microwave.
Moving on...
Does anyone here think internet appliances are going to take off? The only good ideas I can see are:
A webcam in the fridge, so I could check if I needed to hit the store, and Thermostat, so if I'm going to be gone all night I'm not heating/cooling the house needlessly.
These devices aren't taking over an old PC market, they are novel devices filling new niches. PDA? Replaced the paper Franklins. Cell phone? Replaces hard-wired (or even supplements it.) MP3 player -- walkman etc.
Just because sales of embedded devices are increasing and potentially overtaking PC's, does not mean they're replacing them...
And taking a different tack...
What do you think all the people working on all of the embedded devices are going to be working on? Tablets? Handhelds? I don't think so.
They're going to be doing the same thing they are now, sitting in front of a PC (or unix box, or whatever) and banging out requirements, design, and code...
Most work will still be done in the same way, 'cause a lot of the time a PDA/handheld/tablet just won't cut it...
The method described decodes packets from the NAT, using the IP header's ID field (which is normally a simple counter) to determine number of nodes behind the NAT. (Find X distinct ID field chains, that is the number of PCs...)
However: Some hosts take evasive measures. Since the IPid field is used only for fragment reassembly (see below), some Linux kernels use a constant 0 when emitting Path MTU discovery [5] packets, since they cannot be fragmented. Recent versions of OpenBSD and some versions of FreeBSD use a pseudo-random number generator for the IPid field.
From the article: According to Chris Larkin, developer of the Atari 2600 card game Kablamo!, each developer typically came up with a proprietary method of bank switching to increase the ROM size to an average of 32 Kbytes of code.
My 2600 died... All I've got left are the pong paddles (wheel things...) and some cartriges.:(
Well, 1/5 isn't so bad. From page 3 of the article: In 1998, a Vector scientist stumbled upon a sealed canister in the basement of the old Liggett research lab in Durham, North Carolina. The canister contained cigarettes from a secret research initiative known as Project XA, an attempt to produce cigarettes with reduced toxins - a safer smoke. Liggett canceled the program in the '70s, reportedly after being pressured by other companies. The industry feared that the introduction of a reduced-toxin cigarette would be a tacit acknowledgment that cigarettes were harmful, an unthinkable admission two decades ago.
But times had changed, and LeBow dived in. By 2000, a research team completed what its predecessors couldn't. Using palladium to treat tobacco, they produced a cigarette that caused 70 percent fewer tumors in mice. Trumpeting the research, LeBow launched a $25 million advertising campaign in 2001 and released what was dubbed the Omni.
From the article: The idea is that people will be able to wean themselves from nicotine while continuing to smoke. Smokers are attached to the ritual, LeBow explains. Forcing them to fight both the addiction to nicotine and the habit of smoking makes it less likely that they'll succeed in quitting. With the Quest, nicotine dependency can for the first time be separated from the ritual. Once the addiction is addressed, smokers will have an easier time breaking the habit.
The point of the article... can be found in the article. Whoa.
Slashdot Mirror
The company will initially try to commercialize the technology for using the battery as an emergency power source for computers, according to sources at NEC.
I'm suprised the first thing they're shooting for is the UPS market. I would have thought a bigger market would have been standard-sized batteries (AA, AAA, etc)
The article itself mentions many other uses, including RC cars, digital cameras, etc...
Guess they know their market better than I do.
it is revealed early on that Tankado and the dead Japanese man in Spain are the same person. While this is perhaps unavoidable to push the plot along, I found it strange to have this happen so quickly.
;)
And now I know that they're the same, even before I meet Tankado. Thanks, friendly book reviewer!
will be interesting to see how this works with non-MS email clients, esp on non-MS O/S's
As the article stated, "Microsoft says a free viewing program will be available for those who receive a protected document but are not using Office 2003."
However, since this is squarely targeted at corporate enviornments, I don't forsee this becoming a large problem.
Sure, it's bad for the end user information wants to be free blah blah blah, but companies want more control over where their information is going, and MS is providing it in this product. Don't want the FY04 budget leaked? Put a do-not-forward flag on it... Sure, you'll be able to screen-cap things, but casual copying will be prevented.
(We all know that protection can be circumvented by anyone with enough will... This is simply raising the bar for how much desire is necessary.)
That being said, I won't use it, but I'm sure there are corporations out there that will.
Interestingly enough, refrigerators are more efficient when they're full. They need something inside, or they'll short cycle frequently.
(Compressor starts, runs to get air temp down x degrees, and stops. Air temp rises quickly (in relation to things that are normally stored in a fridge) so it cycles again...)
Off topic, yet amusing.
They need lots of help... There are 689 files on the list...
Eek!
Point by point...
Googlehole No. 1: All Shopping, All the Time.
If I'm searching for a Canon i950 review, I will type in "Canon i950 review", not Canon i950. If you're searching for "flowers" (the article's example) you'd better have a more concrete idea of what you're looking for...
Googlehole No. 2: Skewed Synonyms Search for Apple, get results from Apple computer, Fiona Apple etc? Maybe next time search for apple trees? Or "fruit and apple"?
Googlehole No. 3: Book Learning.
How is it Google's fault if "almost no one is publishing entire books online in PDF form." If they're using a closed format, why is that Google's fault? They'd likely be in violation of copyright law if they searched/cached that data.
Whatever.
from this article.
;)
Homeland Security says the advantages include a reduction in the costs associated with deployment, implementation, and maintenance, while providing for a more standard desktop environment. In addition, the department says, the agreement provides it with a common E-mail app.
Oh boy! 140,000 carbon-copy XP boxes running Outlook! That's a huge, free server-farm for anyone that cracks it...
Actually, The Matrix runs on XP, as shown at this site.
(English) download links page here.
To many people, a computer is like a screwdriver. They could care less about it, they just want to pick it up, make it work, and toss it aside when they are done with it. It's unfortunate, yes, but that's just the way it is.
Why is this unfortunate? Do you want to know every nuance of the car you drive, just to get to work? How about when you watch TV? Do you really need to know about NTSC vs PAL? No, you want to watch TV.
Computers should be no different. People just want to send grandma some pictures, surf the web, type a paper, whatever... Not spend forever updating their AV package, SP updates, etc.
A computer is a tool. It is merely a means to an end.
Ridiculous, isn't it? Virtually every company the whole world over rounds its pricing up or down a bit to just under a round number.
:)
We got ya... For whatever reason the author tried to make a stupid point in his article.
But what of the other 5 optimization/de-optimizations he discussed?
To suddenly attribute this to just Apple and Dell is like picking on a kid just because he's got two legs and two arms.
That's just hilarious.
Dude, the keynote isn't even over yet, and you're posting to the site about the news. Geez, talk about jumping the gun...
/me ponders if people enjoy complaining too much.
So if they post stories too slowly... We get "This site is crap. I read about this at Wired/CNN/Blah 2 days/weeks/months ago!"
But if they post news while it's happening, there are complaints about that too?
I use Bruce Powel Douglass' Real-Time UML, Second Edition, Developing Efficient Objects for Embedded Systems .
It only has 1 chapter on UML statecharts, but after reading through it, I was able to describe in 1 diagram LCD behavior that used to take ~20 weakly worded requirements. (Shall do this, except when this, etc...)
If you're having trouble being explicit and clear in requirements, I would highly recommend looking at statecharts. (Picture speaks a thousand words, eh?)
I may have more culinary talents than most, but if I know that I'm going to be too busy to make dinner, I'll toss a slab of beef and some potatos in the crock pot in the morning, and eat whenever I want to at night.
And it sure as heck tastes better than anything that comes out of the microwave.
Moving on...
Does anyone here think internet appliances are going to take off? The only good ideas I can see are:
A webcam in the fridge, so I could check if I needed to hit the store, and
Thermostat, so if I'm going to be gone all night I'm not heating/cooling the house needlessly.
These devices aren't taking over an old PC market, they are novel devices filling new niches. PDA? Replaced the paper Franklins. Cell phone? Replaces hard-wired (or even supplements it.) MP3 player -- walkman etc.
Just because sales of embedded devices are increasing and potentially overtaking PC's, does not mean they're replacing them...
And taking a different tack...
What do you think all the people working on all of the embedded devices are going to be working on? Tablets? Handhelds? I don't think so.
They're going to be doing the same thing they are now, sitting in front of a PC (or unix box, or whatever) and banging out requirements, design, and code...
Most work will still be done in the same way, 'cause a lot of the time a PDA/handheld/tablet just won't cut it...
Now everyone can know the fun of multiple personality disorder!
Shut up jerk! ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H
No, it's really a good ^H^H^H^H crappy idea!
Quit doing that! Ack!
I hear that! I love Moz browser functionality but use nothing else that comes with the package.
I had Pheonix for a while but couldn't put up with the lack of certain features (image/cookie blocking, etc etc etc).
Here's to a full-featured, stand alone browser!
A space is automatically added to all plaintext links.
Use html tags, or have faith in others abilities to track down the space...
Gee, I saw the 3 photographs and really don't see what the big deal is.
Directly from the article:
Journalism ethics forbid changing the content of news photographs, and it is specifically barred in the newspaper's policy.
So, he violated his employers policy, and he exercised bad ethics. Pretty simple...
Is that this isn't an April fools joke.
Current scores:
CmdrTaco: 2
Timothy: 0
In a resounding move, Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda has leaped into the lead over Timothy "I love dupes" with an amazing double-dupe!
Analyists believe Timothy's only chance to get back into the game is to try for a double-doggy-dupe.
We'll keep you updated...
I predict the #1 use for this technology will eventually be peeking through woman's clothes.
Unfortunately, they prototyped it by peeking through a guys clothes, so it may never catch on.
See the image and avi here...
The method described decodes packets from the NAT, using the IP header's ID field (which is normally a simple counter) to determine number of nodes behind the NAT. (Find X distinct ID field chains, that is the number of PCs...)
:)
However:
Some hosts take evasive measures. Since the IPid field is used only for fragment reassembly (see below), some Linux kernels use a constant 0 when emitting Path MTU discovery [5] packets, since they cannot be fragmented. Recent versions of OpenBSD and some versions of FreeBSD use a pseudo-random number generator for the IPid field.
Hurray for Linux...
From the article:
:(
According to Chris Larkin, developer of the Atari 2600 card game Kablamo!, each developer typically came up with a proprietary method of bank switching to increase the ROM size to an average of 32 Kbytes of code.
My 2600 died... All I've got left are the pong paddles (wheel things...) and some cartriges.
Well, 1/5 isn't so bad. From page 3 of the article:
In 1998, a Vector scientist stumbled upon a sealed canister in the basement of the old Liggett research lab in Durham, North Carolina. The canister contained cigarettes from a secret research initiative known as Project XA, an attempt to produce cigarettes with reduced toxins - a safer smoke. Liggett canceled the program in the '70s, reportedly after being pressured by other companies. The industry feared that the introduction of a reduced-toxin cigarette would be a tacit acknowledgment that cigarettes were harmful, an unthinkable admission two decades ago.
But times had changed, and LeBow dived in. By 2000, a research team completed what its predecessors couldn't. Using palladium to treat tobacco, they produced a cigarette that caused 70 percent fewer tumors in mice. Trumpeting the research, LeBow launched a $25 million advertising campaign in 2001 and released what was dubbed the Omni.
It was a huge failure.
From the article:
The idea is that people will be able to wean themselves from nicotine while continuing to smoke. Smokers are attached to the ritual, LeBow explains. Forcing them to fight both the addiction to nicotine and the habit of smoking makes it less likely that they'll succeed in quitting. With the Quest, nicotine dependency can for the first time be separated from the ritual. Once the addiction is addressed, smokers will have an easier time breaking the habit.
The point of the article... can be found in the article. Whoa.