...and for those who aren't familiar with them, they have a real history of championing new technologies for communicating with their fans, like Dial-a-Song, which started as a simple answering machine in the 1980's and evolved into a kind of testing ground for their new material. Some of the stuff on their "Then" compilation album were original recordings for this format, along with a few messages left by callers (fans and otherwise).
I hear you, brother. Taking good eyemodule pics (like yours -- some nice compositions there) is kind of like using a homemade pinhole camera. You can surprise people with the results, but if you spent too much $$ you're an idiot. I too feel $150 is the stupid threshold for most of these module concepts.
Smart cards are a category of stored-value cards. The Federal Reserve defines three categories of stored value cards: offline unaccountable, offline accountable, and online accountable.
Offline accountable are like your Kinko's copy cards. You pay cash (usually) to put a value on it, and when that value is used up, you throw it away. There's no accountability or traceability for your individual transactions.
Offline accountable are similar in that you don't go online to a centralized database to validate/record your transaction, but eventually your transaction IS recorded in a central database by some kind of batch process.
Online accountable include your credit cards, which require an online connection to a central database for verification and transaction recording. In many countries, the drawback to online accountable is the high cost of telecom. Telecom is relatively cheap in the USA and these cards now predominate. I believe this is the major reason why smart cards have not caught on here.
Smart cards are stored value cards with the addition of a processor for such things as encryption, personal identification numbers, etc. These would include the Mondex card. They would provide more security than our existing credit card infrastructure, and could operate either online or offline. The Mondex web site is pretty informative. Check out Mondex and Google for Reg E.
It's an interesting question. Is Linux vintage because UNIX is 30 years old? Look at the gear that GRiD made in 1992 -- pen-based handhelds with built-in wireless, like PDA's are just now beginning to sprout. Is there a distinction between "vintage" and "classic", design patterns that never really go away?
or, "What would Victor Borge do?" regarding that stupid colon. Wasn't he the one who had a set of sound effects for punctuation? If my recollection of his readings on Sesame Street serves me, it would be pronounced something like "ptttt!! ptttt!! cue cat".
From Gartner: features Sony's trademark thumbwheel. The thumbwheel enables a person to scroll down, though it is less effective for scrolling up.
Anyone used this? Between AvantGo and PalmDocs, I read a LOT on my Handspring. It's great, I love it, but I have often felt that the ergonomics could be better. You really have to have opposable thumbs to hit that front-mounted down-button -- I'd like to see one on either side, for left and right handed use.
Yep, those guys are geeks;) I first read about this contest in Scientific American. It was just a little piece but it's here and it doesn't require registration.
As an alum I'd love to see this get more widespread exposure --wish it existed back in my day!
the firefighting robot competition at Trinity College in Hartford CT. The rules for the 2001 competition will be posted on September 1. From the official web page: "This is the largest, public, true Robotics competition held in the U.S. that is open to entrants of any age, ability or experience from anywhere in the world... The goal of the 2001 contest is the same - to build a Robot that can find and extinguish a fire in a house. The challenge for the entrants is to build a computerized (not radio-controlled) Robotic device that can move through a model of a single floor of a house, detect fire (a lit candle) and then put it out. Robots that consistantly accomplish this task in the shortest time win."
You're in high school. You should be broadening your mind, not narrowing in on a professional specialty -- you'll be doing that throughout your post-college life soon enough. If you enjoy computer science and history, seek out your fellow students and teachers who share those interests. Go to the museums other folks have already mentioned. Talk to people. Ask questions. Take notes. Develop a passion for these and other subjects. Seek out internships. Become a problem solver. Read everything you can get your hands on, and find people who can discuss it with you. Don't limit your inquiries to just those of a "computer historian". Good luck.
I for one am glad to see the Atlantic's articles posted here, as they often deal with many of the same issues you'll see Katz try to address, but in a much more thorough, fair, and (real) thought-provoking way. I think it was Robert Kuttner who wrote a very good (mainstream) piece on Linux almost two years ago. OK, maybe there's no news peg for these articles, but it's a good publication to keep an eye on.
If you've used one of the Palm folding keyboards and experienced a satori, you should be able to see that something like the Palm could provide the core processing and storage and a palmtop display. Take it with you everywhere, know no limits. Plug in a keyboard if you need to type. Plug in a flat-panel display if you need more screen. The whole package of modules would be no larger or cumbersome than a Sony Vaio. That's my ideal.
See his oft-cited Wired essay Why the Future Doesn't Need Us. He's concerned that nanotechnology etc will become so cheap that anyone will be able to hack at the basic building blocks of matter. Is that a problem? He thinks so.
I've often thought that if people with big bucks would buy efficient, clean vehicles that still had style, it would spur the economies of scale and infrastructure investments required for the rest of us to afford them. I mean, what if Arnold Schwarzenegger bought some bad-ass hybrid gas-electric vehicle instead of that humvee that puts several tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year? Do all the status items have to be so environmentally irresponsible?
I saw Ira Glass "produce" a show live at SMU's McFarlin auditorium. The simplicity of it was really cool. The show often features music by They Might Be Giants, and David Sedaris' bits are hilarious.
I heard him interviewed on public radio here in Dallas, promoting this book. He loves the US, capitalism, and Nietzsche. Interestingly, he wrote several books on graphics programming in the 1970's and 1980's.
Maybe they were just doing their jobs, and it's their ideas and intellectual products that we judge them on, but I welcome some public recognition for them and others like them. I don't mind saying that Jeff Hawkins of Handspring and Palm has been a personal hero of mine since we worked at GRiD in the early 1990's. Here's a real nice piece in Business Week on his design principles for things like the Palm Pilot.
I think there are geek stories that the general public can understand, relate to, and hold up as role models for the young'ns.
Full disclosure: my wife is a reporter. Now that that's said, I think there is a need for journalists who don't feel the pressure to "get the news now." If all journalists just press the camera or microphone in the face of their sources and say, "You gotta say something 'cause I'm live here!!" we'll never get the subtleties that come from really conversing with sources, or sources that don't want to be revealed. There is a lot of art in good reporting, whether it's on the web or on paper.
In regard to paper, Sunday mornings wouldn't be the same without the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal Weekend section and a pot of coffee. I think there is a lot to be said for sharing a physical paper with family members, and even reading a story together. My wife and I sat on the couch to read the full Ken Starr report together. It was great fun! Sure, someday you'll just spread out your folding display panel, but until then I do enjoy using dead trees once in a while.
Have you ever met a geek who was better-adjusted socially than you? More articulate? Someone who defied all the stereotypes, and could just kick your ass in any human endeavor you can think of? Will you concede that there are geeks that don't need a "spokesperson" such as yourself? Do you think your work serves to perpetuate stereotypes, or dispel them?
I spoke with a technical recruiter recently about a startup that was going to be doing its stuff on "unix/linux". The casual way she linked them in her conversation made me think that, for all intents and purposes, they are synonymous and interchangible, at least in her mind. That seems to me to be a measure of market penetration and respect. Anyone else feel that way?
I always chafed at the setup time required to find stuff when it was stored physically -- hauling out those wooden card catalog drawers, loading up the microfiche viewers, poking people with those newspapers-on-a-stick. You'd spend ten minutes setting up for every minute you'd spend reading. That's fatiguing. Searching electronically makes it truly effortless to read widely. All that's left to do is the actual reading part. Judging by the comments here, though, that's still the hardest part.
Honest, I just get Slashdot for the articles!
on
Playboy And...Linux?
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· Score: 1
This type of story really irks me. Of course, if you don't like it, don't read it, but I'll rant anyway. Newspapers, magazines, and the newer "web-only" media all do this: they ask their reporters (seasoned or otherwise) to do this kind of "vanity" assignment which really requires little of what journalists are supposed to do: get the facts and present them fairly. Who is Gary Krakow, and why is HIS list worthy of promulgation? I say it belongs on his homepage along with his hobbies and pics of his cat. But hey, he had a deadline, and probably thought it was a dumb assignment anyway.
Slashdot Mirror
...and for those who aren't familiar with them, they have a real history of championing new technologies for communicating with their fans, like Dial-a-Song, which started as a simple answering machine in the 1980's and evolved into a kind of testing ground for their new material. Some of the stuff on their "Then" compilation album were original recordings for this format, along with a few messages left by callers (fans and otherwise).
--
I hear you, brother. Taking good eyemodule pics (like yours -- some nice compositions there) is kind of like using a homemade pinhole camera. You can surprise people with the results, but if you spent too much $$ you're an idiot. I too feel $150 is the stupid threshold for most of these module concepts.
--
Offline accountable are like your Kinko's copy cards. You pay cash (usually) to put a value on it, and when that value is used up, you throw it away. There's no accountability or traceability for your individual transactions.
Offline accountable are similar in that you don't go online to a centralized database to validate/record your transaction, but eventually your transaction IS recorded in a central database by some kind of batch process.
Online accountable include your credit cards, which require an online connection to a central database for verification and transaction recording. In many countries, the drawback to online accountable is the high cost of telecom. Telecom is relatively cheap in the USA and these cards now predominate. I believe this is the major reason why smart cards have not caught on here.
Smart cards are stored value cards with the addition of a processor for such things as encryption, personal identification numbers, etc. These would include the Mondex card. They would provide more security than our existing credit card infrastructure, and could operate either online or offline. The Mondex web site is pretty informative. Check out Mondex and Google for Reg E.
--
It's an interesting question. Is Linux vintage because UNIX is 30 years old? Look at the gear that GRiD made in 1992 -- pen-based handhelds with built-in wireless, like PDA's are just now beginning to sprout. Is there a distinction between "vintage" and "classic", design patterns that never really go away?
--
C'mon, you can't anti-cipate everything.
--
or, "What would Victor Borge do?" regarding that stupid colon. Wasn't he the one who had a set of sound effects for punctuation? If my recollection of his readings on Sesame Street serves me, it would be pronounced something like "ptttt!! ptttt!! cue cat".
--
Anyone used this? Between AvantGo and PalmDocs, I read a LOT on my Handspring. It's great, I love it, but I have often felt that the ergonomics could be better. You really have to have opposable thumbs to hit that front-mounted down-button -- I'd like to see one on either side, for left and right handed use.
--
As an alum I'd love to see this get more widespread exposure --wish it existed back in my day!
--
the firefighting robot competition at Trinity College in Hartford CT. The rules for the 2001 competition will be posted on September 1. From the official web page: "This is the largest, public, true Robotics competition held in the U.S. that is open to entrants of any age, ability or experience from anywhere in the world... The goal of the 2001 contest is the same - to build a Robot that can find and extinguish a fire in a house. The challenge for the entrants is to build a computerized (not radio-controlled) Robotic device that can move through a model of a single floor of a house, detect fire (a lit candle) and then put it out. Robots that consistantly accomplish this task in the shortest time win."
--
You're in high school. You should be broadening your mind, not narrowing in on a professional specialty -- you'll be doing that throughout your post-college life soon enough. If you enjoy computer science and history, seek out your fellow students and teachers who share those interests. Go to the museums other folks have already mentioned. Talk to people. Ask questions. Take notes. Develop a passion for these and other subjects. Seek out internships. Become a problem solver. Read everything you can get your hands on, and find people who can discuss it with you. Don't limit your inquiries to just those of a "computer historian". Good luck.
--
I for one am glad to see the Atlantic's articles posted here, as they often deal with many of the same issues you'll see Katz try to address, but in a much more thorough, fair, and (real) thought-provoking way. I think it was Robert Kuttner who wrote a very good (mainstream) piece on Linux almost two years ago. OK, maybe there's no news peg for these articles, but it's a good publication to keep an eye on.
--
Check out The Kept University in The Atlantic Monthly, March 2000 for a thoroughly researched, thoughtful treatment of this issue.
--
If you've used one of the Palm folding keyboards and experienced a satori, you should be able to see that something like the Palm could provide the core processing and storage and a palmtop display. Take it with you everywhere, know no limits. Plug in a keyboard if you need to type. Plug in a flat-panel display if you need more screen. The whole package of modules would be no larger or cumbersome than a Sony Vaio. That's my ideal.
--
See his oft-cited Wired essay Why the Future Doesn't Need Us. He's concerned that nanotechnology etc will become so cheap that anyone will be able to hack at the basic building blocks of matter. Is that a problem? He thinks so.
--
I've often thought that if people with big bucks would buy efficient, clean vehicles that still had style, it would spur the economies of scale and infrastructure investments required for the rest of us to afford them. I mean, what if Arnold Schwarzenegger bought some bad-ass hybrid gas-electric vehicle instead of that humvee that puts several tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year? Do all the status items have to be so environmentally irresponsible?
--
I saw Ira Glass "produce" a show live at SMU's McFarlin auditorium. The simplicity of it was really cool. The show often features music by They Might Be Giants, and David Sedaris' bits are hilarious.
I heard him interviewed on public radio here in Dallas, promoting this book. He loves the US, capitalism, and Nietzsche. Interestingly, he wrote several books on graphics programming in the 1970's and 1980's.
I think there are geek stories that the general public can understand, relate to, and hold up as role models for the young'ns.
In regard to paper, Sunday mornings wouldn't be the same without the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal Weekend section and a pot of coffee. I think there is a lot to be said for sharing a physical paper with family members, and even reading a story together. My wife and I sat on the couch to read the full Ken Starr report together. It was great fun! Sure, someday you'll just spread out your folding display panel, but until then I do enjoy using dead trees once in a while.
Have you ever met a geek who was better-adjusted socially than you? More articulate? Someone who defied all the stereotypes, and could just kick your ass in any human endeavor you can think of? Will you concede that there are geeks that don't need a "spokesperson" such as yourself? Do you think your work serves to perpetuate stereotypes, or dispel them?
Good one.
I spoke with a technical recruiter recently about a startup that was going to be doing its stuff on "unix/linux". The casual way she linked them in her conversation made me think that, for all intents and purposes, they are synonymous and interchangible, at least in her mind. That seems to me to be a measure of market penetration and respect. Anyone else feel that way?
I always chafed at the setup time required to find stuff when it was stored physically -- hauling out those wooden card catalog drawers, loading up the microfiche viewers, poking people with those newspapers-on-a-stick. You'd spend ten minutes setting up for every minute you'd spend reading. That's fatiguing. Searching electronically makes it truly effortless to read widely. All that's left to do is the actual reading part. Judging by the comments here, though, that's still the hardest part.
My wife will never believe me.
This type of story really irks me. Of course, if you don't like it, don't read it, but I'll rant anyway. Newspapers, magazines, and the newer "web-only" media all do this: they ask their reporters (seasoned or otherwise) to do this kind of "vanity" assignment which really requires little of what journalists are supposed to do: get the facts and present them fairly. Who is Gary Krakow, and why is HIS list worthy of promulgation? I say it belongs on his homepage along with his hobbies and pics of his cat. But hey, he had a deadline, and probably thought it was a dumb assignment anyway.