Nice idea, but there's a big problem with that: The second is an SI unit. Changing it to a different value would require either an ugly fudge factor, or require changing the entire metric system. Either way metric depends on the second being the duration it is!
This is a DIRECT rip of the Millenial clock(s) described in Neal Stephenson's Anathem. As a community of geeks, I'm surprised nobody else has made the connection.
The millenial clock in anathem:
- was synchronized by a shaft of sunlight
- triggered an 'event' (in this case opening a door) every 1, 10, 100, and 1000 years (ok so he didn't describe how the 1000 year door worked)
- was human-powered, and wound by people working on a capstan-style winder
- had a backup power supply, in the event it wasn't wound for an extended period of time (the backup supply was supposed to last 100+ years)
The similarities are so close that this is actually a direct copy, not original work. And in the absence of any kind of credit or mention of Neal Stephenson's name, the word plagarism leaps to mind.
[Off topic] (ok so not really so off-topic, because this is slashdot)
As a long-time user of slashdot (shaddap you 6-digit UID freaks), I've become accustomed to the 'disable ads' checkbox. Now that's suddenly disappeared. Why? Also, these days I have to enable ALL scripts (FireFox 4, NoScript) in order to make comments or perform moderation. Why?! What's going on, slashdot? What happened to the promise that no existing functionality would ever be taken away to be then given to subscribers only?
Tried it, it's rubbish. The problem is that while left-white viewing angle is very wide, generally up-down viewing angle is just awful. So when you use portrait mode, the screen just looks wrong.
When are LED (not LED backlight, I mean true LED) monitors going to show up in a decent resolution? This would fix the portrait-mode issue instantly.
OK, so then perform an integrity check at boot. If the checksums don't match, display a message for 10 seconds. Invigilators can then confirm that the examinee has a clean device.
SSD failure rates are lower than that for HDDs. Anyone who claims otherwise either bought a prehistoric SSD or is just spreading FUD.
A modern SSD that is run with TRIM should last far longer than spinning rust.
The performance improvement of SSDs vs. rust storage is so phenomenally incredible that absolutely everyone should have one. If you don't, I bet you also drive a Lada, as you're clearly a masochist.
Yup. My mom (82) recently bought an Acer Aspire. Works great for her email, light word processing, and the odd spreadsheet. The only downside is that the screen isn't really big enough for her to see well enough -- so she's got an external monitor also.
Nonsense, that would be security by obscurity, which is no security at all. The best encryption algorithms out there are the ones that have been thoroughly vetted by experts in the field. A secret encryption scheme will usually be less secure than a widely published one.
Er, so totally wrong. Quebec is part of North America. It's certainly not South America. North America is a continent, not a country, you blithering idiot.
Streisand effect all over again. Except this time, the Japanese government may actually be right. It seems to be trendy these days to over-hype the scaremongering.
Are you kidding?! Fox ranks far higher than the Sun -- at least its 'journalists' have IQs higher than their shoe sizes. Sun journalists are about as smart as toadstools (or even toad stools!).
Slashdot Mirror
Nice idea, but there's a big problem with that: The second is an SI unit. Changing it to a different value would require either an ugly fudge factor, or require changing the entire metric system. Either way metric depends on the second being the duration it is!
This is a DIRECT rip of the Millenial clock(s) described in Neal Stephenson's Anathem. As a community of geeks, I'm surprised nobody else has made the connection.
The millenial clock in anathem:
- was synchronized by a shaft of sunlight
- triggered an 'event' (in this case opening a door) every 1, 10, 100, and 1000 years (ok so he didn't describe how the 1000 year door worked)
- was human-powered, and wound by people working on a capstan-style winder
- had a backup power supply, in the event it wasn't wound for an extended period of time (the backup supply was supposed to last 100+ years)
The similarities are so close that this is actually a direct copy, not original work. And in the absence of any kind of credit or mention of Neal Stephenson's name, the word plagarism leaps to mind.
... and built it. My system's called BitChirp, and can encode up to 512 bits. It works. Too bad these guys beat me to market :(
Could most certainly ray-trace Crysis in real-time. This is a beast of note.
Just plummeted from $20 to $13 in about 5 minutes. Now, not 30 minutes later, it's back to $19.5. Go figure.
No actually it went from 'good' to 'excellent'.
[Off topic] (ok so not really so off-topic, because this is slashdot)
As a long-time user of slashdot (shaddap you 6-digit UID freaks), I've become accustomed to the 'disable ads' checkbox. Now that's suddenly disappeared. Why? Also, these days I have to enable ALL scripts (FireFox 4, NoScript) in order to make comments or perform moderation. Why?! What's going on, slashdot? What happened to the promise that no existing functionality would ever be taken away to be then given to subscribers only?
What's going on, slashdot?
It was ahead of its time. It's gone the way of the personal flying car, not the buggy ...
[citation-needed]
Seems like the UK government has been building castles in the sky, maybe?
+1 funny
Tried it, it's rubbish. The problem is that while left-white viewing angle is very wide, generally up-down viewing angle is just awful. So when you use portrait mode, the screen just looks wrong.
When are LED (not LED backlight, I mean true LED) monitors going to show up in a decent resolution? This would fix the portrait-mode issue instantly.
C-class Mercedes (all of them??) are manufactured in South Africa.
OK, so then perform an integrity check at boot. If the checksums don't match, display a message for 10 seconds. Invigilators can then confirm that the examinee has a clean device.
Why on earth would TI want to do this? Seems they are just shooting themselves in both feet.
SSD failure rates are lower than that for HDDs. Anyone who claims otherwise either bought a prehistoric SSD or is just spreading FUD.
A modern SSD that is run with TRIM should last far longer than spinning rust.
The performance improvement of SSDs vs. rust storage is so phenomenally incredible that absolutely everyone should have one. If you don't, I bet you also drive a Lada, as you're clearly a masochist.
Yup. My mom (82) recently bought an Acer Aspire. Works great for her email, light word processing, and the odd spreadsheet. The only downside is that the screen isn't really big enough for her to see well enough -- so she's got an external monitor also.
Nonsense, that would be security by obscurity, which is no security at all. The best encryption algorithms out there are the ones that have been thoroughly vetted by experts in the field. A secret encryption scheme will usually be less secure than a widely published one.
Sounds like a load of buffa-biscuit to me!
Also, biscuits go well with tea. Arthur Dent would approve wholeheartedly.
Er, so totally wrong. Quebec is part of North America. It's certainly not South America. North America is a continent, not a country, you blithering idiot.
Streisand effect all over again. Except this time, the Japanese government may actually be right. It seems to be trendy these days to over-hype the scaremongering.
This from an AC. How droll.
Yep, I'd say that the sum totality of the universe (a.k.a. "EVERYTHING") is as epic as you can possibly get!!
Therefore either you are non-human, or you have a vagina?
Are you kidding?! Fox ranks far higher than the Sun -- at least its 'journalists' have IQs higher than their shoe sizes. Sun journalists are about as smart as toadstools (or even toad stools!).