Wasn't LD expensive? That's what I remember, large discs that cost a fortune, plus an expensive player that couldn't record. Then there was a format war with RCA to confuse the issue.
I expect Blu-Ray or HD-DVD to eventually catch on when HD displays become the norm. I doubt you will be seeing very many CRT-based TVs being sold two or three years from now.
All franchise operations have the problem of enforcing their rules and procedures. I used to hear stories about Ray Kroc putting the fear of God into McDonalds franchise operators when he used to randomly drop in at McDonalds restaurants across the country. You could lose your franchise if you pissed him off. McDonalds employees were always supposed to throw out food that had sat out for more than X minutes, but implementation of that rule was very inconsistent.
One big variable is the local labor market. I've noticed major differences in quality in between areas where jobs are hard to get, even minimum wage jobs, and areas where anyone with a pulse can get a job.
The telephone companies could take a hint from the IRS. The IRS was having problems with employees looking up the tax returns of famous people for reasons other than official business. They squashed this by putting audit trails on the retrieval of tax returns. They flagged the tax returns of people likely to be targets of abuse, and fired anyone caught looking up a tax return for non-official reasons.
That's your job. If a customer were able to build a clear set of requirements, then they would likely have the skills to build their own systems.
Do I get to strap them down, put bamboo splinters under their fingernails, and inject them with truth serum?
There isn't much that you can do when the customer is uncooperative and doesn't want to get involved or admit their ignorance.
Re:Slide Rules and precision
on
Rounding Algorithms
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· Score: 2, Interesting
From what I recall about C on the PDP-11, single precision didn't buy you much extra speed on the FP-11 (hardware floating point unit), so why not use double precision for all floating point operations?
How about mandatory speed limits for these overweight monstrosities? You want to drive a Canyonero to work every day? Fine, you're not allowed to drive it faster than 45 mph. The lower speed reduces the chance of a rollover and reduces the potential damage to other vehicles.
I've seen similar sized transmitters used for communication with satellites. They're called klystrons. They aren't cheap, and they run off a high-voltage power supply. The one I saw could produce 20 kW at 2.4 GHz. They are safe if you keep a reasonable distance from the transmit antenna.
I have one. It's a Samsung SIR-T451, which you can get refurbed (like new) for $150. I'm very pleased with it. I'm in a marginal signal area and the digital signal is easier to receive than the analog signal for most stations. The picture quality is excellent. I have it connected to an old NTSC color set, so it converts everything to 480i.
Your numbers are off by a substantial amount. The Shuttle's AP-101S has 256kW (256K x 32) of RAM. The Apollo Guidance Computer had 36kW (36K x 16) of memory.
The Shuttle's software is broken up into multiple software loads, launch prep, ascent/entry, in-orbit, etc. for reasons of size and configuration control. It is written in a high-level language (HAL/S), although a strange one.
One of the problems with modern computers is that their timing is not deterministic. They have very complex CPU implementations, many levels of cache, interrupts and VM. Timing is probabilistic. Most operating systems can offer no guarantees to applications software.
I'd like to see someone explain the process that created a cosmic ray (reference) with energy (51 Joules) comparable to a brick being dropped on your foot.
You are assuming that the physical media is within specifications and that the drive is also properly aligned and balanced. I wouldn't automatically blame the end user. How good is the quality control at Microsoft's parts suppliers and assembly plants? They used a bunch of flakey DVD drives in the original Xbox.
Even without leap seconds, it isn't unusual to see serious glitches in software when the time rolls over at the end of the year. I used to see it every year with software that predicted the orbits of satellites.
Who cares if "earth time" is off by 1 sec / yr from "atomic time".
Anyone who is doing navigation based on the current time (UTC) and the positions of the Sun and other celestial bodies. You get the longitude from the difference between local time and UTC.
In general, low-voltage power supplies and long wires do not mix. One of the reasons that the power supply is inside the case is to keep the wires reasonably short. Even if you use larger gauge wires, excessive wire length can cause problems with voltage regulation.
I think you mean 9-track tape. 8-track tapes are used for car audio systems. 9-track tapes have been around for 40 years. They work, and if needed, it isn't that difficult to build new tape drives. How many other data formats have come and gone in that time period? Newer isn't always better.
You make some good points. My experience has been that corporations love email and prefer it to physical paper. These days you can apply for, or renew, a security clearance via email. They email you a program, an electronic form, and you fill it out and email the data file back to them. How are you going to convince them?
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I expect Blu-Ray or HD-DVD to eventually catch on when HD displays become the norm. I doubt you will be seeing very many CRT-based TVs being sold two or three years from now.
One big variable is the local labor market. I've noticed major differences in quality in between areas where jobs are hard to get, even minimum wage jobs, and areas where anyone with a pulse can get a job.
The telephone companies could take a hint from the IRS. The IRS was having problems with employees looking up the tax returns of famous people for reasons other than official business. They squashed this by putting audit trails on the retrieval of tax returns. They flagged the tax returns of people likely to be targets of abuse, and fired anyone caught looking up a tax return for non-official reasons.
Do I get to strap them down, put bamboo splinters under their fingernails, and inject them with truth serum?
There isn't much that you can do when the customer is uncooperative and doesn't want to get involved or admit their ignorance.
See the PDP-11 Handbook (1979) for instruction timings.
I don't think you can say that the present government is setting a good example, what with the sponsorship scandal.
Lockheed-Martin Defense Systems
"When you care enough to send the very best."
How about mandatory speed limits for these overweight monstrosities? You want to drive a Canyonero to work every day? Fine, you're not allowed to drive it faster than 45 mph. The lower speed reduces the chance of a rollover and reduces the potential damage to other vehicles.
I've seen similar sized transmitters used for communication with satellites. They're called klystrons. They aren't cheap, and they run off a high-voltage power supply. The one I saw could produce 20 kW at 2.4 GHz. They are safe if you keep a reasonable distance from the transmit antenna.
I have one. It's a Samsung SIR-T451, which you can get refurbed (like new) for $150. I'm very pleased with it. I'm in a marginal signal area and the digital signal is easier to receive than the analog signal for most stations. The picture quality is excellent. I have it connected to an old NTSC color set, so it converts everything to 480i.
Real fast is not the same thing as real-time.
The Shuttle's software is broken up into multiple software loads, launch prep, ascent/entry, in-orbit, etc. for reasons of size and configuration control. It is written in a high-level language (HAL/S), although a strange one.
One of the problems with modern computers is that their timing is not deterministic. They have very complex CPU implementations, many levels of cache, interrupts and VM. Timing is probabilistic. Most operating systems can offer no guarantees to applications software.
I'd like to see someone explain the process that created a cosmic ray (reference) with energy (51 Joules) comparable to a brick being dropped on your foot.
They could have shredded it with a water gun. That's what they often do to suspected bombs.
You are assuming that the physical media is within specifications and that the drive is also properly aligned and balanced. I wouldn't automatically blame the end user. How good is the quality control at Microsoft's parts suppliers and assembly plants? They used a bunch of flakey DVD drives in the original Xbox.
Even without leap seconds, it isn't unusual to see serious glitches in software when the time rolls over at the end of the year. I used to see it every year with software that predicted the orbits of satellites.
Anyone who is doing navigation based on the current time (UTC) and the positions of the Sun and other celestial bodies. You get the longitude from the difference between local time and UTC.
The commercial version of PGP (PGP Desktop) supports the Macintosh and Windows. It will automatically sign and encrypt email.
In general, low-voltage power supplies and long wires do not mix. One of the reasons that the power supply is inside the case is to keep the wires reasonably short. Even if you use larger gauge wires, excessive wire length can cause problems with voltage regulation.
Is any of that technology going to be around in 20 or 30 years?
I think you mean 9-track tape. 8-track tapes are used for car audio systems. 9-track tapes have been around for 40 years. They work, and if needed, it isn't that difficult to build new tape drives. How many other data formats have come and gone in that time period? Newer isn't always better.
I hate fascist mail systems that make it almost impossible to send updated files to my customer.
You make some good points. My experience has been that corporations love email and prefer it to physical paper. These days you can apply for, or renew, a security clearance via email. They email you a program, an electronic form, and you fill it out and email the data file back to them. How are you going to convince them?
Written by someone who has never worked in a large corporation or bureaucracy.