A while back, there was talk of a technology called DREAD, which pretty much was a high-speed rotating disc that electronically released balls from it. By timing the spinning and the release, the balls could be fired in practically any direction as quickly as the machine could load the ammo.
It looks like you could combine DREAD with a high-speed tracking radar and you get something like this technology.
The problem with water/weatherproofing things, is that it usually adds weight and bulk. I think that most PDA vendors target people who value weight and bulk more than being able to take their devices kyaiking with them. I imagine that beyond the military, it's hard to find ruggedized wearable computers - as silly as that may seem.
So, not waterproof for myself, but more durable over-all. That includes vital plugs, like headphone jacks (*glares at his laptop with a twice-broken headphone jack*)
one-handed Dvorak keyboards require a full set of keys. You're better off just coming up with your own mapping than trying to map a full keyboard directly onto a half keyboard.
My dad's GF got me a vibrating pen. You press the little button on the cap and it vibrates. I don't quite get it, I mean, it's not even water-resistant. Such is electroschlock, I suppose.
If you have ever handled paper questionnaires or ballots, you would understand that a significant portion of the population just doesn't seem to be capable of following simple instructions for marking a questionnaire or ballot.
One then wonders how the hell we're supposed to trust their ability to make a useful descision when it comes to voting.
Early on in my second year at college,my hands had been tingling from too many late nights, days, and afternoons coding and chatting. I started to get freaked out (I mean, really, where's a coder if his hands are dead?). So I switched to Dvorak.
Dovrak is wonderful - much less finger travel and a better balance of the hands (try typing english words with just your left hand vs. just your right hand in qwerty and you'll see what i mean). But Dvorak alone won't help you.
The most important thing I found about switching from Qwerty to Dvorak is that I actually learned to touch type properly. Not having an actual Dvorak keyboard to look at the keys, I simply stopped looking as I typed and started relearning how to touch type. Mind you, I could touch type in Qwerty, but not fingers-on-homerow, actually-using-your-pinkeys typing.
It was the proper relearning that I think really made my hands stop hurting. My fingers move substantially less than my poor Qwerty skills and as such, less strain from long finger reaches.
Many people I encounter say, "oh, i'd learn Dvorak but then i could never use anyone else's computer" or "it'd take too long to learn" Yeah, it's true: it does take dedication. One can't just sit down in front of a Dvorak keyboard, not knowing it, and not get frustrated trying to type in real-time conversations.
I found the best way to learn was to type class notes. That way, not only was I only limited by my own speed (not the speed of the conversation), but it provided good incentive to type faster (more notes).
As for switching between the two: this is also a challenge, but well-worth overcoming. I kept getting confused at first which key was what in which mapping, but over time, I eventually got used to them as seperate layouts and my brain formed a nice distinction between the two. I can still type about as fast in Qwerty as I could before (though, honestly, i havn't tried recently), and I can type as fast, if not faster, in Dvorak.
That works when you have a choice. I can see HP/Compaq embracing the technology and most consumers won't have any clue what hit them.
"What, you're trying to tell me my shiny, new computer is purposefully broken? Well, what can I do about it?" "Nothing, except return the computer." "... that I just spent $799 on?"
heh, their XML documents don't even come close to validating. they say it's all beta, but wow, that's impressive. good to know my taxes are being put to good use - high-quality design. i think nsgmls says it best about their design:
value of attribute "regeneration" cannot be "yes"; must be one of "yes-regeneration", "no-regeneration"
That's what it should do if it was perfect, just like using a soundcard input interface which gets a 200watt feed from a guitar amp shouldn't kill my computer, but it probably will.
As the previous poster noted: this is data that's causing it to die. Not something that's out of the limits of the device's normal ranges (200w for a poor leetle soundcard) but something that's well within the 1 or 0 range of binary data. I agree: software should never crash, especially when it's hardware.
In general, hardware should be designed defensively. All-too-often, hardware will encounter problems provided by our imperfect world that might cause them to crash or fail. An example: I've been working on a robot recently with a microcontroller on it. The microcontroller has a power input with a very primitive reverse-voltage protection circuit on it (a diode and a poorly-placed capicitor). If you connected the voltage wrong, the capicitor blew and the device was rendered useless until you removed/replaced the capicitor. This is bad design. True, it's going out of the limits of the device's inputs, but not unreasonably so. (200w for an input that normally takes orders of magnitudes less vs. reverse polarity)
A cdrom that fail to physically function on bad data is also poor design. That's like old computers that, if certain bits were twiddled incorrectly they would physically catch fire and burn. People make mistakes (in this case, intentionally), and you as a designer should trap for them as best as possible.
one last example: this is a buffer-overrun root exploit. well, not really, but the same principle is applied: inputting data that's unexpected and causing malicious actions to occur. Buffer-overruns are one of the most prolific types of bugs that cause problems in software and people try and remove them for a reason. With that in mind, one would hope your CD-ROM would never, ever crash.
"You tell us what your company needs and we'll happily tell you the licensing information you need. Don't worry you won't have to think about it; just give us your money."
my spine is reinforced with steel rods... i survived. the process btw is called "fusion" where hooks are placed on the vertebre keeping it in line. too bad i had to have it done already, it'd be so cool to say "i have a titanium-reinforced spine"
Eh, I disagree. I, too, chose minidisc over mp3, but am now slightly regretting it. Sure, md players/recorders are smaller as well is the media, but with things like the CD mp3 combo players and specificly (which i anticipate becoming highly popular) mp3 players that use IBM's microdrive technology, that won't be all too important. minidisc is cool, but will be left in the dust when 1GB, 2GB and 10GB(!![that's a smidge o' music]) mp3/vorbis players come out.
realtime recording is a drag, but with sb live!'s digital optical out and multiple dsps, i can listen to other stuff while it's recording.
it's fun to see how much of Trek tech has started to exist IRL. Web pad (PADD), tricorder (PDA on steroids), communicator (cell phones are getting bloody small. why not wear 'em?).
the one thing i really want to exist is a replicator. i mean, the thing'd solve all the world's consumable-matter shortage problems and eliminate currency in a single step.
i totally agree. but the question then arises: what does one do with 1GB on a device that usually deals in the kilobyte range?
although having a compact flash springboard would be very cool for other reasons... you can probably get a significantly better deal on CF than the ~$10/MB you get with the 8MB springboard.
the real question is: can the OS/CPU handle such large amounts of data?
Whatever market this is seems to be the same kind of market that would spawn the existance of games on a cell phone to be considered a feature. Think about it: how many kids actually carry cell phones of their own, let alone have any need to hook it up to an expensive game system? Very few, from what i've seen. It seems more like the kind of thing that a professional staying in a hotel would be interested in - something to pass the time between meeting A and lunch B.
now what would be really cool would be to make a battery pack for it and bundle it with some headset goggles. the wearable market is getting to be more and more existant (I have a wearable computer that I take with me everywhere: it's called my Visor and Stowaway keyboard:-) )
Wow. That's simply beautiful. sorta reminds me of an article I saw in a recent Wired where instead of a battery-powered UPS, energy was stored in giant, incredibly high-speed fly wheels. Sorta has a high-tech-retro kind of feel to it... I like:-)
With bluetooth coming our way, this is the future. You won't even need line of sight, as you do w/ IR - just 10 foot proximity. Just extend this to the abstraction layer of the high-speed data bus for things like displays and storage devices. With bluetooth (or a similar system) properly implemented, you would create the computer dynamically just w/ proximity. Just think: an upgrade could be as simple as buying a new part and telling the rest of the parts about its existance.
Well actually, LEGO(R) (the LEGO Group) is the name of the company that makes the lil' buggers (the name taken fron the danish words "LEg GOdt" which translate to "play well"). The bricks themselves are called LEGO bricks, LEGO-brand building blocks, LEGO elements or some variation of that. For brevity's sake, people tend to abbreviate that to "LEGOs" or even "Legos" (the former of which is more correct than the latter).
These fun facts and more can be learned with a bit o' reading over here: LEGO's history
Computers, computers everywhere...
on
Linux Appliances
·
· Score: 1
The toaster is one of the simplest electronic appliances in one's house: it's essentially just a coil of wire that heats up and has a lil heat-activated release device. It is thought by some that the epitomy of smartification (adding computers unnecessarly) would be to give the one of the simplest appliances a computer.
Speaking of which, i need to go check on my toast... i think the PalmPilot i now use to control my toaster has crashed again.;-)
Slashdot Mirror
A while back, there was talk of a technology called DREAD, which pretty much was a high-speed rotating disc that electronically released balls from it. By timing the spinning and the release, the balls could be fired in practically any direction as quickly as the machine could load the ammo.
s &file=article&sid=526
It looks like you could combine DREAD with a high-speed tracking radar and you get something like this technology.
Check out this link for more info:
http://www.defensereview.com/modules.php?name=New
In Soviet Russia, for one, only our old Korean Overloards welcome YOU.
The problem with water/weatherproofing things, is that it usually adds weight and bulk. I think that most PDA vendors target people who value weight and bulk more than being able to take their devices kyaiking with them. I imagine that beyond the military, it's hard to find ruggedized wearable computers - as silly as that may seem.
So, not waterproof for myself, but more durable over-all. That includes vital plugs, like headphone jacks (*glares at his laptop with a twice-broken headphone jack*)
one-handed Dvorak keyboards require a full set of keys. You're better off just coming up with your own mapping than trying to map a full keyboard directly onto a half keyboard.
... somehow I missed that in the FAQ. Whoops, thanks for the clarification.
Hey guys, get with the times. Check out Archive.org's freecache system. Just prefix a url with:
u /%7Eje lerma/springfield/spring_map.gif
http://freecache.org/
and it'll automatically cache it and distribute it to mirrors. It's easier to set up than than BitTorrent, with a bit more permanence too.
Here's the big map:
http://freecache.org/http:/www.csupomona.ed
My dad's GF got me a vibrating pen. You press the little button on the cap and it vibrates. I don't quite get it, I mean, it's not even water-resistant. Such is electroschlock, I suppose.
One then wonders how the hell we're supposed to trust their ability to make a useful descision when it comes to voting.
"I like that one. He has a nice-sounding name"
Early on in my second year at college,my hands had been tingling from too many late nights, days, and afternoons coding and chatting. I started to get freaked out (I mean, really, where's a coder if his hands are dead?). So I switched to Dvorak.
Dovrak is wonderful - much less finger travel and a better balance of the hands (try typing english words with just your left hand vs. just your right hand in qwerty and you'll see what i mean). But Dvorak alone won't help you.
The most important thing I found about switching from Qwerty to Dvorak is that I actually learned to touch type properly. Not having an actual Dvorak keyboard to look at the keys, I simply stopped looking as I typed and started relearning how to touch type. Mind you, I could touch type in Qwerty, but not fingers-on-homerow, actually-using-your-pinkeys typing.
It was the proper relearning that I think really made my hands stop hurting. My fingers move substantially less than my poor Qwerty skills and as such, less strain from long finger reaches.
Many people I encounter say, "oh, i'd learn Dvorak but then i could never use anyone else's computer" or "it'd take too long to learn" Yeah, it's true: it does take dedication. One can't just sit down in front of a Dvorak keyboard, not knowing it, and not get frustrated trying to type in real-time conversations.
I found the best way to learn was to type class notes. That way, not only was I only limited by my own speed (not the speed of the conversation), but it provided good incentive to type faster (more notes).
As for switching between the two: this is also a challenge, but well-worth overcoming. I kept getting confused at first which key was what in which mapping, but over time, I eventually got used to them as seperate layouts and my brain formed a nice distinction between the two. I can still type about as fast in Qwerty as I could before (though, honestly, i havn't tried recently), and I can type as fast, if not faster, in Dvorak.
That works when you have a choice. I can see HP/Compaq embracing the technology and most consumers won't have any clue what hit them.
"What, you're trying to tell me my shiny, new computer is purposefully broken? Well, what can I do about it?" "Nothing, except return the computer." "... that I just spent $799 on?"
I can only hope you're right.
heh, their XML documents don't even come close to validating. they say it's all beta, but wow, that's impressive. good to know my taxes are being put to good use - high-quality design. i think nsgmls says it best about their design:
value of attribute "regeneration" cannot be "yes"; must be one of "yes-regeneration", "no-regeneration"
As the previous poster noted: this is data that's causing it to die. Not something that's out of the limits of the device's normal ranges (200w for a poor leetle soundcard) but something that's well within the 1 or 0 range of binary data. I agree: software should never crash, especially when it's hardware.
In general, hardware should be designed defensively. All-too-often, hardware will encounter problems provided by our imperfect world that might cause them to crash or fail. An example: I've been working on a robot recently with a microcontroller on it. The microcontroller has a power input with a very primitive reverse-voltage protection circuit on it (a diode and a poorly-placed capicitor). If you connected the voltage wrong, the capicitor blew and the device was rendered useless until you removed/replaced the capicitor. This is bad design. True, it's going out of the limits of the device's inputs, but not unreasonably so. (200w for an input that normally takes orders of magnitudes less vs. reverse polarity)
A cdrom that fail to physically function on bad data is also poor design. That's like old computers that, if certain bits were twiddled incorrectly they would physically catch fire and burn. People make mistakes (in this case, intentionally), and you as a designer should trap for them as best as possible.
one last example: this is a buffer-overrun root exploit. well, not really, but the same principle is applied: inputting data that's unexpected and causing malicious actions to occur. Buffer-overruns are one of the most prolific types of bugs that cause problems in software and people try and remove them for a reason. With that in mind, one would hope your CD-ROM would never, ever crash.
"You tell us what your company needs and we'll happily tell you the licensing information you need. Don't worry you won't have to think about it; just give us your money."
My housemate pointed this out to me and I tend to agree:
Doesn't this memepool link seem to "suggest" this buttonless mouse?
Just a theory, of course...
my spine is reinforced with steel rods... i survived. the process btw is called "fusion" where hooks are placed on the vertebre keeping it in line. too bad i had to have it done already, it'd be so cool to say "i have a titanium-reinforced spine"
I saw it posted on memepool.com the other day. Mmmm, that's a great site to suck up the hours.
realtime recording is a drag, but with sb live!'s digital optical out and multiple dsps, i can listen to other stuff while it's recording.
the one thing i really want to exist is a replicator. i mean, the thing'd solve all the world's consumable-matter shortage problems and eliminate currency in a single step.
although having a compact flash springboard would be very cool for other reasons... you can probably get a significantly better deal on CF than the ~$10/MB you get with the 8MB springboard.
the real question is: can the OS/CPU handle such large amounts of data?
now what would be really cool would be to make a battery pack for it and bundle it with some headset goggles. the wearable market is getting to be more and more existant (I have a wearable computer that I take with me everywhere: it's called my Visor and Stowaway keyboard :-) )
Wow. That's simply beautiful. sorta reminds me of an article I saw in a recent Wired where instead of a battery-powered UPS, energy was stored in giant, incredibly high-speed fly wheels. Sorta has a high-tech-retro kind of feel to it... I like :-)
*shudder* the latency, the latency! and you thought that 15 hops to slashdot.org was bad... how about > 150 hops?
With bluetooth coming our way, this is the future. You won't even need line of sight, as you do w/ IR - just 10 foot proximity. Just extend this to the abstraction layer of the high-speed data bus for things like displays and storage devices. With bluetooth (or a similar system) properly implemented, you would create the computer dynamically just w/ proximity. Just think: an upgrade could be as simple as buying a new part and telling the rest of the parts about its existance.
These fun facts and more can be learned with a bit o' reading over here: LEGO's history
Speaking of which, i need to go check on my toast... i think the PalmPilot i now use to control my toaster has crashed again. ;-)