It would be great if more of these could be available where there are more ``youngsters''. So many of the telescopes that the general public might have a chance of looking through are found in larger cities where the light pollution has rendered them all but unusable for any serious viewing. Even then, I suppose those might be worth something; you may still find them useful to look at the moon. Which could still be enough to inspire the next generation of astronomers.
Having lived in Southern Ohio (not too different from hilly N.C.)... these can be ideal places for installations like this. The mountains provide excellent shielding from extraneous EM radiation. We couldn't pick up squat on the radio, except for the local public station at O.U., until we moved to a house on top of a hill. I believe the NSA still maintains a listening post in the W.V. mountains. If memory serves, it may also be marked on the aviation charts as a `no-flyover' area.
--
``on my machine, windoze kicks the hell out of linux in boot time. Linux takes probably 4 or 5 times as long.''
Really?!
I see the exact opposite. Of course, at home I'm still running a PentiumPro system and it's being SMP to boot (pun intended) probably explains why. Windows performance sucked on PPros and Linux actually understands SMP whereas my copy of Win95 doesn't. At work, my Linux box has half the clock rate but still boots in slightly less time than the NT box does.
I've seen pictures of some of the screens in Whistler. Looks in many ways like Lotus notes. Really innovative. I can see where Microsoft spent all that money on research and development.;-)
And what makes Microsoft think we want to have pictures of their employees leering at us from our computer screens?
``There's just nothing quite like the steady whir
and occassional buzzing of a half dozen 3" fans to calm your nerves!''
I've always found the sound of a bunch of fans (and the slow modulation due to the slight speed variations) reminiscent of the Cylons from the old Battlestar Gallactica series. Not very restful, IMHO. I leave the computers on but they're downstairs to it difficult to here 'em.
Back on topic, though: I sort of like the idea of the graphical bootstrap display. But then I know about single user mode and where to find the boot logs in the event something goes awry; your average Linux newcomer probably won't. On the other hand, today's killer CPUs speeds make the amount of time spent in scrolling text while booting almost non-existent. Does your average newbie really mind that there's a brief time spent with (Oh, No!) text on the screen?
It's not mandatory to have this you know. But it would be nice to have it available as a option selected during the initial installation or as an add-on. (I'm betting on RedHat or Caldera being the first distribution to make it available.)
Nah. It'll just be a comprehensive disclaimer that reminds you that coffee is hot and that Starbucks isn't responsible if you are stupid enough to take the lid off while driving in traffic.
Also, Starbucks won't be held responsible if you spill coffee all over your keyboard while you trying to press Ctrl-Alt-Del.
I've been trying for some time to get DSL into the home and have been getting the run-around: ``Yes, you're close enough'' ``No. You're too far away''. Seems to depend on the phase of the moon. Either that or my neighborhood just happens to sit on a hitherto undiscovered and unusually active tectonic plate.
Now Starbuck comes along and offers wireless internet access. I'm pretty darned sure that there's a Starbucks closer than my local phone company's CO. (Heck, in Chicago, you can stand on most street corners in the Loop and see at least three Starbucks shops.) Could Starbucks be the high speed provider I've been looking for?
``TrueType took off on Windows, since it was way better than anything the average PC-er had ever seen, but the clone that Apple got from MS never made it out the door.''
Not entirely true. Although it didn't appear to make it out Apple's door, TrueImage did make it into the marketplace. I have a printer that I got back in 1991 from a place called ``The PrinterWorks'' (or something like that) that was employed a TrueImage engine. Nice cheap PostScript clone. I'd still be using it if the paper feed mechanism hadn't crapped out. Someday in my copious spare time I'll see if I can revive it.
Apple probably didn't use the technology since they hadn't invented it.
--
``They know he/she doesn't care what an IRQ or DMA is.''
I'm sure that most people, UNIX users as well as Windows or Mac users, are not terribly interested in IRQs and DMA channels either. Unless, of course, there's a conflict somewhere that hoses up the system. Windows tries to hide all that from you and is not always successful. With Linux I've never needed to worry much about it (well, there's still that old AHA1542 that I have to take into account...:-) ).
``Unix and Linux are trying to simplify their complex backgrounds, where as the commercial
OSes are working from a simplier standpoint, giving out more hardcore details to those who
know to look for them.''
Even with Windows, those hardcore details are hiding just below the surface. It doesn't take too many menu clicks for Joe Blow to run into something that he'll find too confusing. And no explanation is likely to be found in the online help. I can't recall how many times I've run into something in Windows help that walks you through a (supposed) solution, only to find that it didn't fix the problem. Then you're asked 'did this solve the problem' and when you respond `no' you're taken back to the beginning of the same process. Always good for a laugh.
Somehow, and perhaps because I have always had a technical bent, the complexity of the OS hasn't been something that I've found daunting. Are you saying that because there's three hex editors out in some directory that users become frightened? I see something that's complex and look past it until I find that I really need to concern myself with it. Would it help if all those nasty hex editors were placed in a directory where only root would see and have any access to them? Perhaps then Joe Blow wouldn't see them and panic. Also, maybe you're not giving old Joe enough credit. You don't see too many folks shying away from driving their car when the complexity of the systems under the hood places them beyond the ken of anyone who hasn't gone through extensive training and invested in the latest Sun analyzers. Joe doesn't do any tune-ups in his garage any more unless he's got a classic car.
If you're not a problem solving sort of person, IMHO, any computer is likely to seem too complex. I'm beginning to think that Joe Blow and not the business community is the perfect customer for ASPs: ``Buy our $199 internet appliance and we'll take care of those nasty details.'' If computers are too complicated, then why not an ASP or even a dedicated appliance?
I believe the the MPAA and CSS brought suit on the basis of the protection they were claiming was provided by the DMCA. I thought their claim was the DeCSS bypassed their lame encryption scheme, not some copyright or patent.
Sun COO Ed Zander pooh poohs Linux as not suitable for use over his company's proprietary version of UNIX. Says it will ``fork'' or ``fragment''. This is news?
Linux fragment? Says who? Oh! Wait a second! I moved around some code in/usr/src/linux/drivers/scsi/hosts.c to override the default controller detection order on one of my servers. I guess Linux has forked! Looks like he's right after all.
I do a twice weekly ``finger nasanews@space.mit.edu 2>&1 |/usr/bin/mailx -s "NASA Space News" spacefans'' to keep up to date on what NASA's doing and this item didn't appear. Guess I'll have to find another source so I can get news about space the microsecond it happens.
A terse comment in response to another post about why NASA hasn't been listening to Pioneer 6 all the time: ``$$$''
... and that was the term: ``nerdistan''. At least it made me chuckle.
There is a bit of truth about the changes that technology is having on human geography. My wife would like to find a larger house. One of my criteria is that it have access to a high speed internet connection. (She understands.)
Some others at work have also decided on that as a feature that would make one house more attractive than another.
Without having actually read the book (the quotations turn me off... big time) I suspect that this author's view of these technology-driven changes is somewhat more alarmist than need be. Things like the internet are probably no more disruptive than were the widespread use of things like the internal combustion engine, or going even farther back, the wheel and the plow. Each had a significant effect on how people organized themselves. Somehow we've all survived. The author appears to think that, maybe, this time we won't without some Great Societal Upheaval occurring. I'm betting that we will not have to commit to some grand egalitarian plan to save our society.
Unless you want your data to be inaccessible to anyone else. What would be the point of a company declaring of ``We're Open! We use XML!'' and then tie up the use of the data with some silly license attached to the DTD.
I'd love to see something big happen to XML. But then I had high hopes for EDI way back when. It turned into a total mess where every implementation was a custom job it was doomed to fall on its face and find far fewer companies that wanted to take advantage of it. And each job was custom since no one could agree on things like what ``customer code'' meant. Hard enough to get two divisions of the same company to agree on that let alone two separate companies. Along comes XML and it just might fall on its face for similar reasons.
--
``Microsoft runs a wide ranging IT/Programming curriculum project, called Mainfunction, that teaches young people to program using Microsoft tools.''
Heh, heh, heh. You sure that's not Disfunction? (I'm not sure you should really call it a ``curriculum'' either.) It looks like basic vocation training to me. Does an ability to drag and drop components from a menu make one a programmer? They likely will have nearly no idea why what they're doing is working (or not). Microsoft tools are like Hamburger Helper and no one would consider someone who can whip up something out of HH a chef.
What's next: Someone who slaps a motherboard and a few cards into a case will begin thinking they're an electronics engineer? Puhleez!
Every time I hear about these company-sponsored training programs I'm reminded of an old Isaac Asimov short story (whose name escapes me at the moment). The hero of the story was disappointed that he wouldn't be receiving specific training and runs away only to find that he'd been pulled aside because he was smart. Everyone else was learning just enough to get by and if they weren't specifically trained for a task they weren't capable of handling it. Are we creating a generation of people who can only use the products that they were trained on? Who will be capable of creating tomorrow's products? Does anyone really think this is what an educational system should be doing?
--
``1. The Red Book (this book second edition, I guess now it is the purple book)''
I have the Yellow Book (whatever edition that was -- if it's a first edition I'll have to hang on to it, eh?). Since I'm now two colors behind I guess I should get the Purple Book now? Especially since the Yellow Book was very BSD oriented, AT&T flavors were not covered too heavily, and some newer variants weren't mentioned at all. (I think the Yellow edition came out before Linus finally got fed up with Minix.:-) )
But US$70+??!! I think I paid about US$30 for the Yellow version.
--
Slashdot Mirror
I don't remember that part. Must be some uncorrectable memory errors.
Before I read the article, I was thinking along the lines of the scene in `Logan's Run' when the laser cosmetic surgery machine goes berserk.
In response to those who say they'd rather trust a human holding a scalpel: I think I'd prefer to stay healthy so I don't need the bypass surgery.
--
It would be great if more of these could be available where there are more ``youngsters''. So many of the telescopes that the general public might have a chance of looking through are found in larger cities where the light pollution has rendered them all but unusable for any serious viewing. Even then, I suppose those might be worth something; you may still find them useful to look at the moon. Which could still be enough to inspire the next generation of astronomers.
But, hey! What about us ``oldsters''?
--
Nah. It'd be burned to the ground during one of their ``controlled'' burns.
--
Having lived in Southern Ohio (not too different from hilly N.C.)... these can be ideal places for installations like this. The mountains provide excellent shielding from extraneous EM radiation. We couldn't pick up squat on the radio, except for the local public station at O.U., until we moved to a house on top of a hill. I believe the NSA still maintains a listening post in the W.V. mountains. If memory serves, it may also be marked on the aviation charts as a `no-flyover' area.
--
Interesting... and just what did you put in your named database to cause a kernel panic?
--
--
Appealing? In what way?
I've seen pictures of some of the screens in Whistler. Looks in many ways like Lotus notes. Really innovative. I can see where Microsoft spent all that money on research and development. ;-)
And what makes Microsoft think we want to have pictures of their employees leering at us from our computer screens?
--
I've always found the sound of a bunch of fans (and the slow modulation due to the slight speed variations) reminiscent of the Cylons from the old Battlestar Gallactica series. Not very restful, IMHO. I leave the computers on but they're downstairs to it difficult to here 'em.
Back on topic, though: I sort of like the idea of the graphical bootstrap display. But then I know about single user mode and where to find the boot logs in the event something goes awry; your average Linux newcomer probably won't. On the other hand, today's killer CPUs speeds make the amount of time spent in scrolling text while booting almost non-existent. Does your average newbie really mind that there's a brief time spent with (Oh, No!) text on the screen?
It's not mandatory to have this you know. But it would be nice to have it available as a option selected during the initial installation or as an add-on. (I'm betting on RedHat or Caldera being the first distribution to make it available.)
--
Nah. It'll just be a comprehensive disclaimer that reminds you that coffee is hot and that Starbucks isn't responsible if you are stupid enough to take the lid off while driving in traffic.
Also, Starbucks won't be held responsible if you spill coffee all over your keyboard while you trying to press Ctrl-Alt-Del.
--
I've been trying for some time to get DSL into the home and have been getting the run-around: ``Yes, you're close enough'' ``No. You're too far away''. Seems to depend on the phase of the moon. Either that or my neighborhood just happens to sit on a hitherto undiscovered and unusually active tectonic plate.
Now Starbuck comes along and offers wireless internet access. I'm pretty darned sure that there's a Starbucks closer than my local phone company's CO. (Heck, in Chicago, you can stand on most street corners in the Loop and see at least three Starbucks shops.) Could Starbucks be the high speed provider I've been looking for?
--
Then, Michael Palin could do another travelogue.
--
Not entirely true. Although it didn't appear to make it out Apple's door, TrueImage did make it into the marketplace. I have a printer that I got back in 1991 from a place called ``The PrinterWorks'' (or something like that) that was employed a TrueImage engine. Nice cheap PostScript clone. I'd still be using it if the paper feed mechanism hadn't crapped out. Someday in my copious spare time I'll see if I can revive it.
Apple probably didn't use the technology since they hadn't invented it.
--
I'm sure that most people, UNIX users as well as Windows or Mac users, are not terribly interested in IRQs and DMA channels either. Unless, of course, there's a conflict somewhere that hoses up the system. Windows tries to hide all that from you and is not always successful. With Linux I've never needed to worry much about it (well, there's still that old AHA1542 that I have to take into account... :-) ).
Even with Windows, those hardcore details are hiding just below the surface. It doesn't take too many menu clicks for Joe Blow to run into something that he'll find too confusing. And no explanation is likely to be found in the online help. I can't recall how many times I've run into something in Windows help that walks you through a (supposed) solution, only to find that it didn't fix the problem. Then you're asked 'did this solve the problem' and when you respond `no' you're taken back to the beginning of the same process. Always good for a laugh.
Somehow, and perhaps because I have always had a technical bent, the complexity of the OS hasn't been something that I've found daunting. Are you saying that because there's three hex editors out in some directory that users become frightened? I see something that's complex and look past it until I find that I really need to concern myself with it. Would it help if all those nasty hex editors were placed in a directory where only root would see and have any access to them? Perhaps then Joe Blow wouldn't see them and panic. Also, maybe you're not giving old Joe enough credit. You don't see too many folks shying away from driving their car when the complexity of the systems under the hood places them beyond the ken of anyone who hasn't gone through extensive training and invested in the latest Sun analyzers. Joe doesn't do any tune-ups in his garage any more unless he's got a classic car.
If you're not a problem solving sort of person, IMHO, any computer is likely to seem too complex. I'm beginning to think that Joe Blow and not the business community is the perfect customer for ASPs: ``Buy our $199 internet appliance and we'll take care of those nasty details.'' If computers are too complicated, then why not an ASP or even a dedicated appliance?
--
...if they still have copies of the ``New Zork Times'' packed away in their basement.
--
I believe the the MPAA and CSS brought suit on the basis of the protection they were claiming was provided by the DMCA. I thought their claim was the DeCSS bypassed their lame encryption scheme, not some copyright or patent.
--
...should be along the lines of this (in an article on The Register covering the suit):
Can't understand why this has gotten as far as it has.
--
Hah! More like ``it wouldn't be profitable''. Individuals don't have Prodigy's deep pockets.
Stop The Insanity!
--
Sun COO Ed Zander pooh poohs Linux as not suitable for use over his company's proprietary version of UNIX. Says it will ``fork'' or ``fragment''. This is news?
Linux fragment? Says who? Oh! Wait a second! I moved around some code in /usr/src/linux/drivers/scsi/hosts.c to override the default controller detection order on one of my servers. I guess Linux has forked! Looks like he's right after all.
--
I do a twice weekly ``finger nasanews@space.mit.edu 2>&1 | /usr/bin/mailx -s "NASA Space News" spacefans'' to keep up to date on what NASA's doing and this item didn't appear. Guess I'll have to find another source so I can get news about space the microsecond it happens.
A terse comment in response to another post about why NASA hasn't been listening to Pioneer 6 all the time: ``$$$''
Have a good one!
--
... and that was the term: ``nerdistan''. At least it made me chuckle.
There is a bit of truth about the changes that technology is having on human geography. My wife would like to find a larger house. One of my criteria is that it have access to a high speed internet connection. (She understands.) Some others at work have also decided on that as a feature that would make one house more attractive than another.
Without having actually read the book (the quotations turn me off... big time) I suspect that this author's view of these technology-driven changes is somewhat more alarmist than need be. Things like the internet are probably no more disruptive than were the widespread use of things like the internal combustion engine, or going even farther back, the wheel and the plow. Each had a significant effect on how people organized themselves. Somehow we've all survived. The author appears to think that, maybe, this time we won't without some Great Societal Upheaval occurring. I'm betting that we will not have to commit to some grand egalitarian plan to save our society.
--
Well, I'm sure some PHB will still be glad he spent the money on Exchange... because it looks prettier.
--
Unless you want your data to be inaccessible to anyone else. What would be the point of a company declaring of ``We're Open! We use XML!'' and then tie up the use of the data with some silly license attached to the DTD.
I'd love to see something big happen to XML. But then I had high hopes for EDI way back when. It turned into a total mess where every implementation was a custom job it was doomed to fall on its face and find far fewer companies that wanted to take advantage of it. And each job was custom since no one could agree on things like what ``customer code'' meant. Hard enough to get two divisions of the same company to agree on that let alone two separate companies. Along comes XML and it just might fall on its face for similar reasons.
--
Heh, heh, heh. You sure that's not Disfunction? (I'm not sure you should really call it a ``curriculum'' either.) It looks like basic vocation training to me. Does an ability to drag and drop components from a menu make one a programmer? They likely will have nearly no idea why what they're doing is working (or not). Microsoft tools are like Hamburger Helper and no one would consider someone who can whip up something out of HH a chef.
What's next: Someone who slaps a motherboard and a few cards into a case will begin thinking they're an electronics engineer? Puhleez!
Every time I hear about these company-sponsored training programs I'm reminded of an old Isaac Asimov short story (whose name escapes me at the moment). The hero of the story was disappointed that he wouldn't be receiving specific training and runs away only to find that he'd been pulled aside because he was smart. Everyone else was learning just enough to get by and if they weren't specifically trained for a task they weren't capable of handling it. Are we creating a generation of people who can only use the products that they were trained on? Who will be capable of creating tomorrow's products? Does anyone really think this is what an educational system should be doing?
--
I predict it's gonna ship Platinum.
--
I have the Yellow Book (whatever edition that was -- if it's a first edition I'll have to hang on to it, eh?). Since I'm now two colors behind I guess I should get the Purple Book now? Especially since the Yellow Book was very BSD oriented, AT&T flavors were not covered too heavily, and some newer variants weren't mentioned at all. (I think the Yellow edition came out before Linus finally got fed up with Minix. :-) )
But US$70+??!! I think I paid about US$30 for the Yellow version.
--