The problem is that it doesn't have its own streamable file format. AVI files are the standard MPEG4 transport format, but you can't stream them because AVI files have headers at the very end of the stream.
There is an effort to make Mpeg4 for compact and streamable. Go take a look at 3ivx. I am keeping a close eye on this development group.:o)
The main purpose of radomes is to make it more difficult for us to know where they're pointing their dishes. I can't offhand think of any non-spook projects that use them, and I guess that's the reason.
Actually, there is a radio astronomy observatory (whose name escapes me) that has a radome up around it. It protects the dish from weather and the effects of. It's a safe assumption that a radio observatory doesn't care if anyone can see where it's pointed.
I wouldn't be surprised if the reason for these radomes is both, however.
Twiggs said his minisatellites are a valuable tool, even if their utility is not yet clear.
"To me, it's kind of like the Internet. What could you do with the Internet five years ago?" he said. "And now look at all the applications they've got."
Yeah, but even five years ago, it didn't cost a developer $45,000 everytime he wanted to compile some source code to see how it would run...
This is something that Nikola Tesla was working on, actually. The entire theory behind the Tesla Coil was that it could transmit electricity through the air to be converted into useful power at the home. The problem was, Westinghouse dropped his support of it because it became difficult to charge people for it.
Another idea of Tesla's was the idea of using the Earth's rotation and magnetic field to generate electricity. You could set up giant coil towers that would be dragged through the magnetic field via the Earth's rotation. This could be converted and then retransmitted through Tesla Coils to power peoples homes, cars, airplanes... The possibilities of wireless power become almost endless.
My theory is not as strong as it used to be, though. Anyone else have a more thorough grounding in these ideas?
You have stated that you believe that people in the United States have a right to the use of the Internet.
Okay, assuming that is true, let's say that the government buys computers for anyone who wants one. It would take almost no time for someone to complain about the content available out on the Internet.
So then the Government says, "Hey, we bought those computers, so we now have the right to regulate what can appear on them."
Media Metrix's primary method of getting web stats involves volunteer web surfers to install software on their machines that monitors their web activity.
Isn't it a well-known fact that people behave differently when they know they're being monitored? I mean, there are a few sites I normally go to that I probably wouldn't if I knew it was getting reported back to someone...
Not only that, but what happens if someone gets this list of who has the monitoring software right now? "Hey, Mister Jones, we'll give you a twelve-pack of beer if you go surf around our site for a little while..."
You want something that you can develop and change for yourself, yet you want a warranty or guaranty that it will work just like you expect it to... COME ON! At very least, where's your pioneering spirit? Do you also want to climb Mount Everest but expect someone to guaranty that you will not fall or hurt yourself in any way?
I have to disagree here. Maybe Open Source and the community is in a pioneering mode Right at This Moment(tm), but it won't always be.
Sure, there will always be some people on the bleeding edge, but for the most part, OSS developers write things that somebody needs somewhere.
For example, I just started up an OSS ticket/call tracking system (like Clarify, Remedy, and a few others), using Interbase 6, C, and Perl. This is hardly pioneering or bleeding edge, and a perfect case where some third-party quality control and evaluation would be useful.
Yes, it can still be argued that OSS in general is pioneering because of the way it's being distributed. That'll change soon enough, when more and more companies and individuals pursue the concept.
There's one other option, as well. Why not place the entire operating system on an EEPROM? Large-sized EEPROMs are getting pretty cheap these days.
Using an EEPROM would allow you to upgrade/patch the OS as necessary. Also, some clever engineering would make it all but immune to viruses (putting the OS in a true ROM would do wonders for virus protection, but make it difficult to upgrade you system software).
Hell, you could put Linux and X-Windows with the Window manager of your choice all on an EEPROM and have a superfast, instant booting machine.
I'm sure this is being done somewhere. Any ideas or links anyone cares to share?
Apple is shooting itself in the foot by not allowing rumors to spread...
I can understand them wanting to stop untrue rumors, like someone claiming to be an employee of the company saying, for example, that a newly announced product will get delayed, when in reality, it won't. Things like that hurt the company and it's stock in illegitimate ways (this happened to a company I used to work for).
But when it comes to just basic anticipation rumors, sometimes, in to the benefit of the company to let these proliferate when they're true. It's free advertising for the company.
Well, the submitter might have been thinking there would be copyright issues with doing a cut and paste. Still, most places, especially scientific sites, don't care as long as credit is given, which it was.
I don't know how people have the nerve to open up their $300.00 to $500.00 Palm and screw with it like that. I guess they're a lot more confident when it comes to their soldering skills than I am.
No kidding! I remember one time someone described how to turn a regular IDE controller into a RAID controller by simply removing one resistor. The catch? The resistor was underneath a surface mount component that had to be removed and then resoldered on!
Other people can do that. I'll spend a little extra money to keep the warranty.
Think about this, people hear the Gnome announcement and want to check out Gnome. The (arguably) easiest way to check out Gnome is to install Linux. If the person wanting to experience Gnom chooses Caldera, Storm, Corel, Mandrake or any other of the dozens of Linux distributions that make KDE the default desktop environment, more users will be introduced to KDE.
This is exactly how I discovered KDE. Up until I first installed Linux, I had only ever heard of Gnome. But, in the options for what to install, there was this KDE thing listed. So I investigated, and found out that it's an operating environment like Gnome is. So I tried it. I'm now hooked.
Okay, so this is a boring "me too" post, but it lends credence to your argument. In the long run, the Gnome Foundation will help KDE.
Darren "Gav" Bluel, the artist who draw the comic strip Nukees, has attacked this very same absurd patent issue.
One of the characters (Suzy G.) got a patent on energy use (A system by which energy can be converted to different forms within a closed system...). The main character, Gav, is now using this to sue every person in Earth.
Kinda makes you wonder, huh?
PS - You need to go back a few weeks to catch the entire storyline.
Besides night swimming I'm usually not far enought away from the city lights to see stars and stuff so I wouldn't care. But I would take the time to see some of my (least) favorite company's space ads burn as they fell back into the atmosphere.
Actually, this brings up an excellent idea. Maybe we can allow space billboards if they are kept in orbit for a short term only.
In other words, ads have to be placed in a deliberately decaying orbit where they will last, say, one month. If the company wants another one launched, it has to pay for another one.
Benefit: Rocket launches might become cheaper because of the increased demand for them. This would benefit other, more serious and valuable projects, who could then launch for cheaper.
Drawback: If launches became cheaper, then more space billboards could be launched, cluttering up the sky, and the view for earthbound astronomy. But then again, if launches are cheap, space-bound astronomy could become common.
... And in other news, Hydrogen has officially sued Mother Nature for her use of Oxygen in carbon-based lifeform respiration.
"We have a clear case of infringement in this issue," said Hydrogen. "Everyone knows that all other elements are a derivative of us, and they're unaurthorized use will not go unpunished."
Mother Nature countered, citing that Oxygen did not derive directly from Hydrogen, but rather, there were many steps in between.
The case is going to be presented before the Quark Committee for final determination later this week.
Unfortunately xenon is much more expensive than fuel *g*
This makes me wonder if there are other, cheaper options besides Xenon gas. I mean, if you can still get better efficiency using Helium ion (or whatever) propulsion than chemical propulsion, then why not? It would be a lot cheaper than Xenon.
We can only detect this sort of 'halo' when it's radiation reaches us. Our halo would only be visible to those observing from within 50 light years away. The original poster's point holds.
The original poster was making it sound like we're looking for radio signals used for deliberate interstellar communication. I merely pointed out that this need need be the case, that the signals we're looking for may merely be incedental.
Yes, your right, we're still looking for a point source. But that wasn't my point.:o)
I mean, consider the practicality of using LIGHT SPEED TRANSMISSION to communicate at interstellar distances.
I seem to recall that the search had to do with looking for a radio halo around other stars/planets.
For example, humans have been broadcasting over and otherwise using radio for about 90 years. We've been using radio that can penetrate the ionosphere for about what, 40, 50 or so? This means that we now have a 40/50 light-year radio halo around our planet that could theoretically be detected.
Okay, I didn't realize this web site was all about catastrophism when I linked it. But it's still a good all around idea, linking widely different disciplines together to compare notes.
With all these consolidated efforts (seti, sledgehammer) going accross the net, maybe something can be formed to bring brilliant minds together to discuss problems like this.
I think we're about to see the ultimate integrated system. First, your home computer combined with your stereo, then your DVD player, letting you make an out-of-this-world enterntainment system. Now... It's your fridge! Yes, now, your refridgerator can now be integrated in with the computer, stereo, and DVD player, giving you the ultimate entertainment system that keeps your beer cold.:o)
I never knew about these Wacom's at all. Thanks for turning me on to them. And to top it all off, they're compatible with the Millenium G400 I just bought.:o)
The idea of drawing directly on an LCD screen would make an excellent graphic arts interface. You could have your 8.5x11 inch touch tablet screen, complete with Crusoe processor running Linux and CorelDRAW 9 or Canvas 7 (this is where a port of Illustrator to Linux would be nice). All you need to do is draw straight on the syrface to put all of your illustrations together.
Yes, I know this is somewhat offtopic, but I can't help but dream about this.
Heck, you could go to Hobby Lobby and pick up some cool stuff to decorate a computer case with.
They have this stuff the you can paint anything with to make it look like granite. They also have a spray on stone-like finish. I just wish I could remember brand names.
So, you could build a cool case from scratch, or you could modify an existing one. Personally, I kind of have this idea to make a computer case out of flat stones and PVC that would also be an indoor fountain...
Slashdot Mirror
There is an effort to make Mpeg4 for compact and streamable. Go take a look at 3ivx. I am keeping a close eye on this development group. :o)
The main purpose of radomes is to make it more difficult for us to know where they're pointing their dishes. I can't offhand think of any non-spook projects that use them, and I guess that's the reason.
Actually, there is a radio astronomy observatory (whose name escapes me) that has a radome up around it. It protects the dish from weather and the effects of. It's a safe assumption that a radio observatory doesn't care if anyone can see where it's pointed.
I wouldn't be surprised if the reason for these radomes is both, however.
"To me, it's kind of like the Internet. What could you do with the Internet five years ago?" he said. "And now look at all the applications they've got."
Yeah, but even five years ago, it didn't cost a developer $45,000 everytime he wanted to compile some source code to see how it would run...
This is something that Nikola Tesla was working on, actually. The entire theory behind the Tesla Coil was that it could transmit electricity through the air to be converted into useful power at the home. The problem was, Westinghouse dropped his support of it because it became difficult to charge people for it.
Another idea of Tesla's was the idea of using the Earth's rotation and magnetic field to generate electricity. You could set up giant coil towers that would be dragged through the magnetic field via the Earth's rotation. This could be converted and then retransmitted through Tesla Coils to power peoples homes, cars, airplanes... The possibilities of wireless power become almost endless.
My theory is not as strong as it used to be, though. Anyone else have a more thorough grounding in these ideas?
------------
Mr. Nader,
You have stated that you believe that people in the United States have a right to the use of the Internet.
Okay, assuming that is true, let's say that the government buys computers for anyone who wants one. It would take almost no time for someone to complain about the content available out on the Internet.
So then the Government says, "Hey, we bought those computers, so we now have the right to regulate what can appear on them."
How do you propose we keep this from happening?
Isn't it a well-known fact that people behave differently when they know they're being monitored? I mean, there are a few sites I normally go to that I probably wouldn't if I knew it was getting reported back to someone...
Not only that, but what happens if someone gets this list of who has the monitoring software right now? "Hey, Mister Jones, we'll give you a twelve-pack of beer if you go surf around our site for a little while..."
The mind boggles.
I have to disagree here. Maybe Open Source and the community is in a pioneering mode Right at This Moment(tm), but it won't always be.
Sure, there will always be some people on the bleeding edge, but for the most part, OSS developers write things that somebody needs somewhere.
For example, I just started up an OSS ticket/call tracking system (like Clarify, Remedy, and a few others), using Interbase 6, C, and Perl. This is hardly pioneering or bleeding edge, and a perfect case where some third-party quality control and evaluation would be useful.
Yes, it can still be argued that OSS in general is pioneering because of the way it's being distributed. That'll change soon enough, when more and more companies and individuals pursue the concept.
Just my two cents...
Using an EEPROM would allow you to upgrade/patch the OS as necessary. Also, some clever engineering would make it all but immune to viruses (putting the OS in a true ROM would do wonders for virus protection, but make it difficult to upgrade you system software).
Hell, you could put Linux and X-Windows with the Window manager of your choice all on an EEPROM and have a superfast, instant booting machine.
I'm sure this is being done somewhere. Any ideas or links anyone cares to share?
I can understand them wanting to stop untrue rumors, like someone claiming to be an employee of the company saying, for example, that a newly announced product will get delayed, when in reality, it won't. Things like that hurt the company and it's stock in illegitimate ways (this happened to a company I used to work for).
But when it comes to just basic anticipation rumors, sometimes, in to the benefit of the company to let these proliferate when they're true. It's free advertising for the company.
Just my two cents.
Well, the submitter might have been thinking there would be copyright issues with doing a cut and paste. Still, most places, especially scientific sites, don't care as long as credit is given, which it was.
No kidding! I remember one time someone described how to turn a regular IDE controller into a RAID controller by simply removing one resistor. The catch? The resistor was underneath a surface mount component that had to be removed and then resoldered on!
Other people can do that. I'll spend a little extra money to keep the warranty.
This is exactly how I discovered KDE. Up until I first installed Linux, I had only ever heard of Gnome. But, in the options for what to install, there was this KDE thing listed. So I investigated, and found out that it's an operating environment like Gnome is. So I tried it. I'm now hooked.
Okay, so this is a boring "me too" post, but it lends credence to your argument. In the long run, the Gnome Foundation will help KDE.
One of the characters (Suzy G.) got a patent on energy use (A system by which energy can be converted to different forms within a closed system...). The main character, Gav, is now using this to sue every person in Earth.
Kinda makes you wonder, huh?
PS - You need to go back a few weeks to catch the entire storyline.
Actually, this brings up an excellent idea. Maybe we can allow space billboards if they are kept in orbit for a short term only.
In other words, ads have to be placed in a deliberately decaying orbit where they will last, say, one month. If the company wants another one launched, it has to pay for another one.
Benefit: Rocket launches might become cheaper because of the increased demand for them. This would benefit other, more serious and valuable projects, who could then launch for cheaper.
Drawback: If launches became cheaper, then more space billboards could be launched, cluttering up the sky, and the view for earthbound astronomy. But then again, if launches are cheap, space-bound astronomy could become common.
Just a few thoughts. Make of them what you will.
"We have a clear case of infringement in this issue," said Hydrogen. "Everyone knows that all other elements are a derivative of us, and they're unaurthorized use will not go unpunished."
Mother Nature countered, citing that Oxygen did not derive directly from Hydrogen, but rather, there were many steps in between.
The case is going to be presented before the Quark Committee for final determination later this week.
This makes me wonder if there are other, cheaper options besides Xenon gas. I mean, if you can still get better efficiency using Helium ion (or whatever) propulsion than chemical propulsion, then why not? It would be a lot cheaper than Xenon.
The original poster was making it sound like we're looking for radio signals used for deliberate interstellar communication. I merely pointed out that this need need be the case, that the signals we're looking for may merely be incedental.
Yes, your right, we're still looking for a point source. But that wasn't my point. :o)
I seem to recall that the search had to do with looking for a radio halo around other stars/planets.
For example, humans have been broadcasting over and otherwise using radio for about 90 years. We've been using radio that can penetrate the ionosphere for about what, 40, 50 or so? This means that we now have a 40/50 light-year radio halo around our planet that could theoretically be detected.
We're looking for E.T.'s version of that.
Okay, I didn't realize this web site was all about catastrophism when I linked it. But it's still a good all around idea, linking widely different disciplines together to compare notes.
Someone's already been working on it, actually:
Society for Interdisciplinary Studies
Very fascinating stuff. I first heard of them from the back of a James P. Hogan book.
Life is beautiful, once again.
Yes, I know this is somewhat offtopic, but I can't help but dream about this.
They have this stuff the you can paint anything with to make it look like granite. They also have a spray on stone-like finish. I just wish I could remember brand names.
So, you could build a cool case from scratch, or you could modify an existing one. Personally, I kind of have this idea to make a computer case out of flat stones and PVC that would also be an indoor fountain...
Well, okay, maybe that's pushing it a little.