Rather than add more memory, why not use the architecture of the Pi to write a new browser that doesn't suffer from software bloat and scope creep? The RPi project was initially targeted at teaching children how to write programs that run on small, simple, and affordable systems with no fancy toolkits or bloated libraries.
In other words, the way it used to be, when 256MB was a blessing and not a hindrance.
Curiosity has 2GB of onboard radiation-hardened Flash storage - not enough to fit both the Flight software and the Rover software at the same time. So they devised a system where they would fly the rover to Mars with the Flight software, and considering they wouldn't be performing a return trip, decided that they could remote-wipe the flight data and install rover software in its place.
Due to Curiosity's nature, the onboard electronic systems need to be radiation-hardened. Not jjust "tin-foil cover" hardened. I'm talking engineered from the ground-up to resist data corruption from external radiation sources. This comes at extreme cost, both financially and physically. Every little bit of extra RAM or Flash storage adds weight to the rover unit, and by extent, tons (literally) of extra fuel to carry it that full 225,000,000km. It's not as easy as plugging in a thumb drive or popping an extra disk in there. If it really were, do you think the rocket scientists at NASA would have thought about that before they shot a billion-dollar robot into the sky?
I know you think you're being all geeky and clever, but seriously. If you aspire to second-guess every engineering decision that NASA makes, perhaps you should apply for a management position there.
How long until we see PAC ads accusing him of being a big smelly poopy face? Wait, those already started? Hmm.
Welcome back to kindergarten, folks. I think I'll go hibernate for the next three months so I don't have to witness the ridiculous stupidity of American society when polarized by two equally bad alternatives.
...there's a fatal misunderstanding in this concept. I see a lot of posters saying "no no no, he just wants to backup his Linux ISOs and movies!" and fine, in that case, yes, a tape backup would be great. But to do any kind of regular access of that medium would just be tragic. See my filesystem explanation below to learn why.
Furthermore, the submitter said his intent was to download torrents ON TO the tape. Torrents are NOT sequential downloads - that is, if the beginning of the file is Packet A and the end is Packet Z, you're not going to receive everything nice and neat like A, B, C, D, and so on until you hit the EOF. It means your seeder might send you Packet F first because that's the part he has, and another seeder might send you Packet A later on whenever that becomes available.
And while, yes, tapes make a lovely BACKUP medium, they're just that - backups. Tapes are not designed to be read/write accessed 24x7 for the equivalent life of a hard disk. You write to them once a week for your nightly backup rotation, and hope to god you never have to read them.
This submitter is also completely ignoring the fact that most filesystems are NOT designed to be sequential-access. As many other posters have mentioned, "regular" filesystems access data in small random chunks. It doesn't matter if the actual file is "sequential" or not - the filesystem doesn't give a damn. It treats all files the same way. Have you ever heard the phrase "Disk Thrashing"? Yeah, try to download your torrents onto a tape drive and that's pretty much what you'll get. Forcing a "regular" random-access filesystem to operate on top of an entirely sequential storage medium will burn out your little Hipster NAS before ext3 even finishes writing the inodes.
Remember on an old manual typewriter, how you typed everything out nice and neat and sequentially? If you ever have access to one, try typing a sentence in reverse - from right to left. It's hard enough as is. Now try typing it in a random order. It ain't gonna happen before you get bored and move on to some other terrible idea with no logical foundation.
You're comparing apples to oranges. Windows isn't released under the Ms-PL. Try telling Microsoft to give you the source and see what they say.
So you're right about the copyright holder not being limited. A small victory for you on a small oversight by me. And what about the other animation studios who use proprietary products like Maya? Releasing OpenSubdiv under the GPL would fuck them over, because now they're barred from using it just because RMS can't sleep at night knowing that free software might be working hand-in-hand with proprietary code. OH NOEZ!!! Guess they better start training all their staff on Blender.
And wow, a little early for the ad hominems to start flying, isn't it? You really must not have much ground to stand on.
Richard Stallman and the FSF specifically encourage library-writers to license under the GPL so that proprietary programs cannot use the libraries, in an effort to protect the free-software world by giving it more tools than the proprietary world.
Following this assertion by RMS and the FSF, Pixar's release of their surface rendering library under the GPL would be an immediate violation as their own proprietary rendering systems obviously utilize this library. Therefore, if they wished to release it as GPL, they would subsequently be forced to A) Stop using it outright, or B) GPL their own in-house software that links to it to avoid being in violation of the GPL.
No sir, YOUR massive misunderstanding of licensing requirements makes your "accusations" of me suspect.
...And this type of reaction is why more companies aren't exactly tripping over themselves to open their code.
It's free for non-commercial AND commercial use. What the fuck else do you want? Are you really that offended that their open-source rendering library has the word "Microsoft" even tangentially related to it? Do you really think they would publish it under GPLv3, which could potentially force them to open their entire codebase?
Not only this, but I'm sure for transactions where there actually WAS a problem or the whole deal just went south, the buyer is probably... um... not quite in a position to give feedback on the website. Whether you read that as "overdosed", "poisoned by tainted products", or just "face down in a ditch with a bullet in the head" all depends on what you'd expect from a typical drug deal.
I just started my switch over to T-Mobile. When I graduated from college and entered the big boy world, I needed to secure my own plan for my wife and me. Having come from a Verizon plan with unlimited data for my iPhone, I wanted to keep our devices and hopefully the same level of service. Verizon's rates have gotten so ridiculous, I was looking at a $160/month bill just to hook up one smartphone and one basic phone. There was absolutely ZERO flexibility from Verizon.
Compare this to T-Mobile, where I pay $70/month for two lines with 1000 minutes, unlimited texting, and unlimited HSPA+ data (throttled above 2GB of course). Even with the lack of subsidized devices, T-Mobile's plan will save me well over $500 a year all told, and their coverage in my area is just as good as Verizon's. I quickly remind Verizon reps of this every time they tell me "well you see, you're also paying for the network..."
The big 3 carriers have become much too comfortable being at the top for so long. They're starting to fall, and quickly, as shady business practices and economic pressure push value-conscious consumers to seek out cheaper cell providers and alternatives to mobile voice and data service.
Is the BBC turning into The Onion? Or is the author just plain daft to start with?
Substituting the words "mini-livestock" in place of "dead insects"? What the fuck are these Brits smoking?
I know crushed-up insects may pass for a semi-decent gourmet meal by British culinary standards, but here in America I'll stick to my 97% lean ground beef and REAL pork chops, thanks.
I'm SO glad there were two sentences in that 5-sentence summary that said the same goddamn thing, because without this glaring redundancy I would have surely been lost.
Gender tests may be the most controversial obstacle the athletes face.
Of all the obstacles athletes have had to overcome to compete in the Olympics, perhaps the most controversial has been the gender test.
Do Slashdot editors just map every key to "Accept Submission" and faceroll? Or are they really that bad at basic English composition?
I don't think that would help much - the reason being that a hard science graduate would rather stay unemployed than take a job at Starbucks. For a liberal arts major, that's practically a career path.
But that means they would be legally responsible when the authorities show up asking questions. The idea here is to pawn legal responsibility off on other people, who will then have to fight to stay out of Federal PMITA prison for being an accessory, or harboring, or whatever charges the DA's dart happens to land on that day.
...for the first time in his life just to see what aisle numbers he should put in his New York Times op-ed piece.
I bet this douchenozzle fit in just fine in his Saks Fifth Avenue loafers and his $300 skinny jeans from Barney's on Madison.
Perfect example of ritzy intellectual douchebags looking down their noses, preaching to the common man that he should feel bad for ever leaving his cave.
This article is so kitsch, I don't even think he's a hipster. He must be a new and unidentified species. I propose the classification H. douchetelle.
I know this will go unheeded because it's what people don't want to hear, but the US Government had nothing to do with this case.
The child was denied clearance by an airline employee, not an actual customs agent. And the person who claims that a damaged passport is "disrespect" to the privilege of holding a passport is some whackjob I've never heard of who owns a small business that specializes in... wait for it... passports and visas! The online ratings for this guy's business classify him as a Grade A jackass, as well.
This is an overblown, almost-manufactured attempt at criticizing the government for its national security policies. It's really much more akin to blaming the local beef farmer because my steak was overcooked.
I'm sure he's just dying to throw a few hundred million out to beg for your forgiveness for his commercial success.
Right after he finishes helping Ballmer's kids set up their iPods.
For all you servicemen and families of servicemen, USAA is a great institution. They offer 100% free checking - free bill pay, free checks, free debit cards with cash-back, and they refund ATM fees at the end of every month (even fees from non-USAA ATMs). Deposits can be done via smartphone, scanner or at your local UPS Store.
Even those with no relation or connection to the US Armed Forces are eligible for certain banking products, so if you're looking to drop your mega-bank I absolutely urge you to check out USAA's offerings. The lack of branches outside of San Antonio, TX can be a bit disappointing when you need to deposit cash, but the customer service is wonderful and I've never really even had a need to do anything in-person, anyway.
1) The codec may be 10 years old but it's the codec used on every single Apple multimedia product. ALAC is required by Airplay. Thus, opening ALAC will allow third parties to implement Airplay interoperability into their products. Old =/= Useless
2) I didn't say they would open source iOS as a whole. Basic English comprehension skills indicate that my last sentence asks "Might they open up more iOS features for third-party utilization?"
3) I'm looking at Darwin on ARM right now, on my iPhone. And my iPad. And the iPod Touch located nearby. ARM is an architecture, not some exclusive hardware platform.
Slashdot Mirror
Rather than add more memory, why not use the architecture of the Pi to write a new browser that doesn't suffer from software bloat and scope creep? The RPi project was initially targeted at teaching children how to write programs that run on small, simple, and affordable systems with no fancy toolkits or bloated libraries.
In other words, the way it used to be, when 256MB was a blessing and not a hindrance.
Curiosity has 2GB of onboard radiation-hardened Flash storage - not enough to fit both the Flight software and the Rover software at the same time. So they devised a system where they would fly the rover to Mars with the Flight software, and considering they wouldn't be performing a return trip, decided that they could remote-wipe the flight data and install rover software in its place.
Due to Curiosity's nature, the onboard electronic systems need to be radiation-hardened. Not jjust "tin-foil cover" hardened. I'm talking engineered from the ground-up to resist data corruption from external radiation sources. This comes at extreme cost, both financially and physically. Every little bit of extra RAM or Flash storage adds weight to the rover unit, and by extent, tons (literally) of extra fuel to carry it that full 225,000,000km. It's not as easy as plugging in a thumb drive or popping an extra disk in there. If it really were, do you think the rocket scientists at NASA would have thought about that before they shot a billion-dollar robot into the sky?
I know you think you're being all geeky and clever, but seriously. If you aspire to second-guess every engineering decision that NASA makes, perhaps you should apply for a management position there.
How long until we see PAC ads accusing him of being a big smelly poopy face? Wait, those already started? Hmm.
Welcome back to kindergarten, folks. I think I'll go hibernate for the next three months so I don't have to witness the ridiculous stupidity of American society when polarized by two equally bad alternatives.
...there's a fatal misunderstanding in this concept. I see a lot of posters saying "no no no, he just wants to backup his Linux ISOs and movies!" and fine, in that case, yes, a tape backup would be great. But to do any kind of regular access of that medium would just be tragic. See my filesystem explanation below to learn why.
Furthermore, the submitter said his intent was to download torrents ON TO the tape. Torrents are NOT sequential downloads - that is, if the beginning of the file is Packet A and the end is Packet Z, you're not going to receive everything nice and neat like A, B, C, D, and so on until you hit the EOF. It means your seeder might send you Packet F first because that's the part he has, and another seeder might send you Packet A later on whenever that becomes available.
And while, yes, tapes make a lovely BACKUP medium, they're just that - backups. Tapes are not designed to be read/write accessed 24x7 for the equivalent life of a hard disk. You write to them once a week for your nightly backup rotation, and hope to god you never have to read them.
This submitter is also completely ignoring the fact that most filesystems are NOT designed to be sequential-access. As many other posters have mentioned, "regular" filesystems access data in small random chunks. It doesn't matter if the actual file is "sequential" or not - the filesystem doesn't give a damn. It treats all files the same way. Have you ever heard the phrase "Disk Thrashing"? Yeah, try to download your torrents onto a tape drive and that's pretty much what you'll get. Forcing a "regular" random-access filesystem to operate on top of an entirely sequential storage medium will burn out your little Hipster NAS before ext3 even finishes writing the inodes.
Remember on an old manual typewriter, how you typed everything out nice and neat and sequentially? If you ever have access to one, try typing a sentence in reverse - from right to left. It's hard enough as is. Now try typing it in a random order. It ain't gonna happen before you get bored and move on to some other terrible idea with no logical foundation.
You're comparing apples to oranges. Windows isn't released under the Ms-PL. Try telling Microsoft to give you the source and see what they say.
So you're right about the copyright holder not being limited. A small victory for you on a small oversight by me. And what about the other animation studios who use proprietary products like Maya? Releasing OpenSubdiv under the GPL would fuck them over, because now they're barred from using it just because RMS can't sleep at night knowing that free software might be working hand-in-hand with proprietary code. OH NOEZ!!! Guess they better start training all their staff on Blender.
And wow, a little early for the ad hominems to start flying, isn't it? You really must not have much ground to stand on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPLv3#Libraries
Richard Stallman and the FSF specifically encourage library-writers to license under the GPL so that proprietary programs cannot use the libraries, in an effort to protect the free-software world by giving it more tools than the proprietary world.
Following this assertion by RMS and the FSF, Pixar's release of their surface rendering library under the GPL would be an immediate violation as their own proprietary rendering systems obviously utilize this library. Therefore, if they wished to release it as GPL, they would subsequently be forced to A) Stop using it outright, or B) GPL their own in-house software that links to it to avoid being in violation of the GPL.
No sir, YOUR massive misunderstanding of licensing requirements makes your "accusations" of me suspect.
...And this type of reaction is why more companies aren't exactly tripping over themselves to open their code.
It's free for non-commercial AND commercial use. What the fuck else do you want? Are you really that offended that their open-source rendering library has the word "Microsoft" even tangentially related to it? Do you really think they would publish it under GPLv3, which could potentially force them to open their entire codebase?
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Not only this, but I'm sure for transactions where there actually WAS a problem or the whole deal just went south, the buyer is probably... um... not quite in a position to give feedback on the website. Whether you read that as "overdosed", "poisoned by tainted products", or just "face down in a ditch with a bullet in the head" all depends on what you'd expect from a typical drug deal.
Yeah, because "Hope", "Yes We Can", "Our Time For Change", and "Change we can believe in" are all totally longer than 140 characters. Partisan tool.
I just started my switch over to T-Mobile. When I graduated from college and entered the big boy world, I needed to secure my own plan for my wife and me. Having come from a Verizon plan with unlimited data for my iPhone, I wanted to keep our devices and hopefully the same level of service. Verizon's rates have gotten so ridiculous, I was looking at a $160/month bill just to hook up one smartphone and one basic phone. There was absolutely ZERO flexibility from Verizon.
Compare this to T-Mobile, where I pay $70/month for two lines with 1000 minutes, unlimited texting, and unlimited HSPA+ data (throttled above 2GB of course). Even with the lack of subsidized devices, T-Mobile's plan will save me well over $500 a year all told, and their coverage in my area is just as good as Verizon's. I quickly remind Verizon reps of this every time they tell me "well you see, you're also paying for the network..."
The big 3 carriers have become much too comfortable being at the top for so long. They're starting to fall, and quickly, as shady business practices and economic pressure push value-conscious consumers to seek out cheaper cell providers and alternatives to mobile voice and data service.
Is the BBC turning into The Onion? Or is the author just plain daft to start with?
Substituting the words "mini-livestock" in place of "dead insects"? What the fuck are these Brits smoking?
I know crushed-up insects may pass for a semi-decent gourmet meal by British culinary standards, but here in America I'll stick to my 97% lean ground beef and REAL pork chops, thanks.
Gender tests may be the most controversial obstacle the athletes face.
Of all the obstacles athletes have had to overcome to compete in the Olympics, perhaps the most controversial has been the gender test.
Do Slashdot editors just map every key to "Accept Submission" and faceroll? Or are they really that bad at basic English composition?
"Dell Technical Support could not be reached for comments."
http://xkcd.com/451/
I don't think that would help much - the reason being that a hard science graduate would rather stay unemployed than take a job at Starbucks. For a liberal arts major, that's practically a career path.
I'd be wary bringing up the notion of "rational thought" in the presence of a PolySci professor. I hear they find that idea quite revolting.
I'm pretty sure if I wrote that paper, the resulting Slashdot headline would be "Engineer Asks: Is Political Science Necessary?"
But that means they would be legally responsible when the authorities show up asking questions. The idea here is to pawn legal responsibility off on other people, who will then have to fight to stay out of Federal PMITA prison for being an accessory, or harboring, or whatever charges the DA's dart happens to land on that day.
Do not pass go. Collect $100.
...for the first time in his life just to see what aisle numbers he should put in his New York Times op-ed piece.
I bet this douchenozzle fit in just fine in his Saks Fifth Avenue loafers and his $300 skinny jeans from Barney's on Madison.
Perfect example of ritzy intellectual douchebags looking down their noses, preaching to the common man that he should feel bad for ever leaving his cave.
This article is so kitsch, I don't even think he's a hipster. He must be a new and unidentified species. I propose the classification H. douchetelle.
You know the drill. Pick any two.
I know this will go unheeded because it's what people don't want to hear, but the US Government had nothing to do with this case.
The child was denied clearance by an airline employee, not an actual customs agent. And the person who claims that a damaged passport is "disrespect" to the privilege of holding a passport is some whackjob I've never heard of who owns a small business that specializes in... wait for it... passports and visas! The online ratings for this guy's business classify him as a Grade A jackass, as well.
This is an overblown, almost-manufactured attempt at criticizing the government for its national security policies. It's really much more akin to blaming the local beef farmer because my steak was overcooked.
I'm sure he's just dying to throw a few hundred million out to beg for your forgiveness for his commercial success. Right after he finishes helping Ballmer's kids set up their iPods.
For all you servicemen and families of servicemen, USAA is a great institution. They offer 100% free checking - free bill pay, free checks, free debit cards with cash-back, and they refund ATM fees at the end of every month (even fees from non-USAA ATMs). Deposits can be done via smartphone, scanner or at your local UPS Store.
Even those with no relation or connection to the US Armed Forces are eligible for certain banking products, so if you're looking to drop your mega-bank I absolutely urge you to check out USAA's offerings. The lack of branches outside of San Antonio, TX can be a bit disappointing when you need to deposit cash, but the customer service is wonderful and I've never really even had a need to do anything in-person, anyway.
Three reasons why your post is entirely off-base:
1) The codec may be 10 years old but it's the codec used on every single Apple multimedia product. ALAC is required by Airplay. Thus, opening ALAC will allow third parties to implement Airplay interoperability into their products. Old =/= Useless
2) I didn't say they would open source iOS as a whole. Basic English comprehension skills indicate that my last sentence asks "Might they open up more iOS features for third-party utilization?"
3) I'm looking at Darwin on ARM right now, on my iPhone. And my iPad. And the iPod Touch located nearby. ARM is an architecture, not some exclusive hardware platform.