Bubonic plague is nasty, nasty stuff. ..I've read a lot about the various fun ways it can kill you through history books. For those who have no idea of what it did to Europe, read a good summary of the Black Death here.
Also, before people go off on biological weapons, etc, consider that there have been several recent breakouts of this disease, particularly in the southwest US(where I'm from). Don't know what I'm talking about? Check out this as an example. I remember reading in the paper in AZ about outbreaks occasionally and shuddering. A cure would be a godsend--even though there are only about 10-15 cases in the US a year, its a painful way to go.
If you want to avoid the mirror snag, use Q3's automatic update feature. Not sure if linux has this too, but the Win version got the game patched pretty quick.
More information/interesting interview
on
XBox Delayed
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Interesting that they're choosing to delay it. In previous interviews I'd read, the Microsofties sounded pretty hyped about how they're not going to have the supply problems the PS2 had. This was then followed by the rumormill working overtime on a reduced launch.
Well, 2x 2.2ghz procs doesn't exactly equal straight up 4.4ghz--and especially where quake is concerned. My main box for the longest time was a dual PIII 667 running on a Tyan Tiger 230 mainboard. I play Quake3 exclusively (what a great break from class. ..) and I didn't notice a huge increase in performance over my previous configuration, a single PIII 500. In fact, I got about the increase I'd expect from a single 667 processor box.
Now, from reading around, Quake3 was/is supposed to have support for SMP (read this slashdot article). Is this confined to the linux version or is there something I was doing wrong?
I haven't read the article (and don't want to) but even the term 'news addiction' sounds idiotic to me. 'Addiction' implies a malignant dependancy, when in reality what everyone wants is to be well informed of whats going on, and whats going to be done about it. The author of the story says he's staying up late, etc. ..In my mind thats commendable, not an 'addiction'.
As to the state of internet and tv news right now, even given that there is a LOT more news repetition/misreporting/retraction than usual, almost everything is being fed to the public live--and non-preprocessed!! For the first time in a while, the American populace is getting more than ten-second interview bites and packaged reporting from our media. There's really no way they can dress this up, and everyone wants to know more. We are seeing real things happening and forming our own opinions. Look at the effect its having; we, as a people, are thoroughly pissed off.
Out of curiosity, why hide it so completely? This is an intelligent marketing move whether or not one agrees with it, but for those who need to know--i.e. the enthusiast crowd that AMD has in the palm of their hand--couldn't they just have it displayed in the BIOS? The average SOHO user certainly won't be poking around there. The average overclocker, on the other hand, will want to know where he/she's at.
I loved legos growing up. ..my siblings and I would spend days constructing spaceships, submarines, and houses only to destroy them and start over. While I wasn't the sadist that Hemo apparently is, stretching our limited supply of blocks made us creative people.
Now, whenever I stop by my local FAO Shwartz, I don't see many basic blocks sets. ..I only see all this high-tech mindstorm sets, movie-flavored stuff, and other themed sets. And they're all VERY expensive!
Young kids--at least, myself, my friends, and my siblings when we were in gradeschool--could care less about following complicated instructions to build what the Lego creators think looks good! Lego needs to get back to the basics and let young kids create their own solutions using the the materials at hand.
So, in a sense, I guess Lego has lost a bit of focus. Their mindstorm sets, etc are very cool ideas but really have a limited market segment. As a company, maybe they should hire some child psychologists and take stock of what they're offering.
When I first decided to get my feet wet in linux, SuSE was the install I chose, unfortunately because the fellow idiot at CompUSA (I wanted a boxed version with a MANUAL for my first try) nodded his head vigorously and told me that it would be the best for me.
Well, I think that was SuSE 5.x something. ..At the time, the documentation stunk--I thought--really. ..the translation on the manual was incomplete and horrible, although and I thought that the direction to 'masterbooten' was pretty funny.;o) In addition, I, a windows neophyte, had to learn to compile and install the tulip driver for my network card in order to get networking. That was a trip in itself.
Now, with SuSE 7.x, its freakin easy to get going with their new installer, tulip is included (I'm pretty sure), and everything goes so smooth a monkey could set up a great linux box. They're moving in the right direction!
I couldn't say this a few years ago, but NEWBIES, GO GET SUSE! Its cheap, comes with a TON of stuff, has a nice manual, and the installation is VERY smooth.
Naturally, those seeking the zdnet advertising-big money-enhanced (tm) view should choose the latter, while those seeking that of an enthusiast should check out Sharky's.;o)
I started reading this report expecting a Napster-esque sensationalist attack on P2P sharing aimed at putting normally near-comatose congresspeople on the edge of their seats. However, I was pleasently surprised.
To be honest, yes there's a not-so-subtle bias in play in this document. Well, gee, what do you expect? BUT on the other hand, it makes some good points. I particularly appreciated the britney spears example, because I've babysitted a few young children who are computer saavy, and I can imagine them running into just that sort of thing by mistake down the line.
Now, while I respect its findings, I'm sure I'll disagree with the government's solution. But in the meantime, don't piss on the messenger, wait to see what congress does to P2P as a result and piss on that instead.:o)
Wow, what a piece of self-congratulatory tripe
on
First Looks At XBox
·
· Score: 1
Well, whatever else happens, there'll at least be ONE person buying an Xbox. This guy gets aroused just thinking about it.
"The Microsoft designers reinforced the idea of Xbox's unforeseen potential and power by putting a raised "jewel" on the top of the console. Luke compares it to a porthole on a furnace, nuclear submarine or atomic collider. "You can see the fire inside burning," Luke explained." . . . . riiiiiiight.
I am also a relative newbie. Here's what has helped me.
The first time I tried to install Linux, it was from an early version of Suse. I was pretty much hopeless with computers a the time--I managed to wipe my harddrive out not once, but three times. However, in light of the horrible Suse manual and my own ignorance experimentation was the only way to learn.
That said, here's some of the things I learned from the experience:
If you know anyone who's a Linux god, self-proclaimed or otherwise, ask them for help! Sounds like 'duh' advice, but some people NEVER ASK. I've annoyed the hell out of all my lab friends doing this. But then again, they've taught me a lot.
Buy the O'Reilly 'Linux' book. I've got a few linux books--including, I'm sorry to say, 'Linux for Dummies.' They've all taught me exactly jack, especially since most of them are distribution-centric. This is mostly a good thing except that with all that extra non-universal information some of the more important things like compiling and installing a module from the command line get minor coverage. The O'Reilly book isn't perfect, but it has a lot of the basics.
Play!! They ONLY way to learn is to mess up! I have an old pentium machine, and I really don't care if I trash it. I've reinstalled linux a hundred times in the course of trying things different ways. I realize not everyone has this luxury, but for me its the best way to learn, hands down. I was an art major long before I went to CS, and the hands-on approach works well for me.
One other thing: as soon as you get up and running, one of the first things you should learn about if you're on a network is SECURITY. You've got this nice box: now lock it up tight so it stays yours. The first time I installed Red Hat I had no idea what services (or even what a 'service' was. ..) were running and my box got rooted. 'Course, this is on a college network where people do things like that for fun, but still. . .
Yeah, and 400 million transistors gives a lot of room for design slop--more space for slapping together pre-designed components.
Any idiot can make a circuit that adds two 1-bit numbers. Any idiot can also string 128 of 1-bit adders together to make a 128-bit adder. That's how damn near *all* logic circuits are designed. Wash, rinse, and repeat. No big deal.
Sure, any idiot can string together 128 1-bit adders, but designing a 128 bit adder to run at that high of a clock speed takes a bit more work. It would have to use some kind of carry-lookahead logic trick to get everything it needed done in one cycle. Point being, putting together a solid, optimized component like that DOES take some serious design time--if for nothing else to but to do the math using a CAD program or espresso. And if that takes effort, getting your stuff to play nice at a high enough clock speed must take more!
I'm far and away no pro [yet] at this sort of thing, but from what I've done myself so far (just introductory digital design stuff, building components and simple clocked machines) it would take a long time to put together something this complex and do it right. Witness the P4.
Good lord thats a lot. This should fill in nicely while molecular computing advances to the point of commercial feasibility as a technology.
However, one thing that amazes me even more is how much effort its going to take to actually design a chip that uses 400 mil transistors! I'm a computer engineering student: designing small stuff using just a few is enough for me.
I am a huge fan of Sci Fi/Fantasy (mostly due to the fact that I'm a permanent escapist), and I wanted to put in a few words of comparison between K.J.A and Frank Herbert.
Don't get me wrong, Anderson is not a bad writer. Although he has his faults, I think that his stlye makes him very accessible for everyone. However, thats just what annoys me about him and what sets him far apart from Tolkien, Herbert, Orson Scott Card, and the like.
The absolute worst problem I have with Mr. Anderson's writing is the overwhelming reliance on cliche
KJA writes a LOT of cliche into his novels! Good lord. ..I am a huge Star Wars fan, and I've read each of his 'Rouge Squadron' books. They are trips into a sappy hell, reminding me more of a futuristic "Hardy Boys" than Star Wars! Almost evey chapter of his early works ends with some character speaking a runon sentance dripping with determination and grit. Annoying. And this is not limited to just this series either.
When I first read Herbert, I LOVED it because it felt like he was relating history to me. It felt like these things had already happened and he was simply recording the events. This combined with the realistic complexity of his universe made it seem so real! Tolkien gave me much the same effect in that he fills in ALL of the gray areas in his creations. Every race has a language he created just for it (He was a philologist). Both Tolkien and Herbert are similar in the amounts of time they spent mapping out their creations before writing.
Frankly, I dont want to see anyone else write within the Dune universe. You've noticed that no-one else has written within the LOTR universe (minus a few kids books I know of), and the people who HAVE expanded the Star Wars universe without George Lucas have often annoyed me. The whole process seems like putting on someone else's clothes, almost--and they certainly don't always fit right.
I browsed through the site and have a few thoughts to offer.
You know, I'm sure everyone's heard this, but let me say it again: no matter how neat, cool, amazing, awesome, etc of an idea they present, 3d window managers will never become mainstream as long as they're presented in 2d space. I.e., your computer monitor!
Frankly, I appreciate the philosophy behind presenting data in 3d. There are a lot pf possibilities there. However, I can see how it would confuse and turn off a lot of people when viewed in 2-space.
Now, imagine the same idea presented on something like THIS!! That's where we're heading, folks, and I can hardly wait.
Hey, check this out, courtesy of Ars. It presents an alternate viewpoint using different means. I remembered reading this not too long ago. Interesting read. ..and to add a spoiler, it definitely recommends the Fraunhoffer over LAME and BladeEnc.
These sound great. ..but from what I'm getting from the article and the word 'ambient' is that they wouldn't work so well in anything other than bright light. Thats a bummer for a lot of potential applications of an otherwise great idea. . .
Still, maybe its a useful idea to combine with existing LCD tech? Imagine a handheld that no longer had the dissapearing-screen-in-bright-sunlight effect we all know and love! Perhaps add these fibers in addition to a backlight and we'd be talking big-time potential for improvement.
C60 means 60 atoms of carbon twelve covalently bonded. This means that the atoms share electrons with their neighbors as opposed to passing electrons around. Covelant bonds are an extremely stable type of chemical bond.
I found this article to be somewhat dissapointing. I was hoping that the researchers had come up with a way to concretely take an atom and use it as a logic gate. Instead, they 'used a solution' of atoms in-between electrodes and noticed that the solution had the properties of a transistor. Then they got 'excellent' correllation that there were in fact buckyballs in there.
Hopefully the day is not long off where one can take indidual molecules and string them together to perform complex boolean operations at the molecular level. When that happens, molecular computing will be a reality. But it ain't there yet. . . .
In reply to everyone who is looking down the end of their noses at Shawn due to his age:
SHUT UP.
Shawn Fanning is young, sure. But at the same time I know hundreds of adults--including professors at this institution--who would not and could not handle themselves with the same control and poise as he has.
I'm not supporting his ideas (thats for other posts), but I am going to defend attacks on his ability through his age. Senators seem to be taking him seriously--can't you too? Instead of making snide remarks about how 'kids like him' need to go out and play, think about how, despite the handicap of being a 'teenager' in a society conditioned to look down on young people, he has managed to become on of the most influential people in two spheres of computing.
Slashdot Mirror
Bubonic plague is nasty, nasty stuff. . .I've read a lot about the various fun ways it can kill you through history books. For those who have no idea of what it did to Europe, read a good summary of the Black Death here.
Also, before people go off on biological weapons, etc, consider that there have been several recent breakouts of this disease, particularly in the southwest US(where I'm from). Don't know what I'm talking about? Check out this as an example. I remember reading in the paper in AZ about outbreaks occasionally and shuddering. A cure would be a godsend--even though there are only about 10-15 cases in the US a year, its a painful way to go.
If you want to avoid the mirror snag, use Q3's automatic update feature. Not sure if linux has this too, but the Win version got the game patched pretty quick.
Interesting that they're choosing to delay it. In previous interviews I'd read, the Microsofties sounded pretty hyped about how they're not going to have the supply problems the PS2 had. This was then followed by the rumormill working overtime on a reduced launch.
Check these out, courtesy of Gamespot:
Some Microsoft comments on the delay.
Ed Fries discusses XBox launch
Well, to answer my own question and for anyone else who's interested, check out the following by Carmack:
;o)
John Carmack on dual CPU's
I guess the poster will have to wait a while for quake on a 4.4ghz computer.
Well, 2x 2.2ghz procs doesn't exactly equal straight up 4.4ghz--and especially where quake is concerned. My main box for the longest time was a dual PIII 667 running on a Tyan Tiger 230 mainboard. I play Quake3 exclusively (what a great break from class. . .) and I didn't notice a huge increase in performance over my previous configuration, a single PIII 500. In fact, I got about the increase I'd expect from a single 667 processor box.
Now, from reading around, Quake3 was/is supposed to have support for SMP (read this slashdot article). Is this confined to the linux version or is there something I was doing wrong?
I haven't read the article (and don't want to) but even the term 'news addiction' sounds idiotic to me. 'Addiction' implies a malignant dependancy, when in reality what everyone wants is to be well informed of whats going on, and whats going to be done about it. The author of the story says he's staying up late, etc. . .In my mind thats commendable, not an 'addiction'.
As to the state of internet and tv news right now, even given that there is a LOT more news repetition/misreporting/retraction than usual, almost everything is being fed to the public live--and non-preprocessed!! For the first time in a while, the American populace is getting more than ten-second interview bites and packaged reporting from our media. There's really no way they can dress this up, and everyone wants to know more. We are seeing real things happening and forming our own opinions. Look at the effect its having; we, as a people, are thoroughly pissed off.
. . .would have to be the fact that they're performing this research. I laughed pretty hard.
Out of curiosity, why hide it so completely? This is an intelligent marketing move whether or not one agrees with it, but for those who need to know--i.e. the enthusiast crowd that AMD has in the palm of their hand--couldn't they just have it displayed in the BIOS? The average SOHO user certainly won't be poking around there. The average overclocker, on the other hand, will want to know where he/she's at.
I loved legos growing up. . .my siblings and I would spend days constructing spaceships, submarines, and houses only to destroy them and start over. While I wasn't the sadist that Hemo apparently is, stretching our limited supply of blocks made us creative people.
.I only see all this high-tech mindstorm sets, movie-flavored stuff, and other themed sets. And they're all VERY expensive!
Now, whenever I stop by my local FAO Shwartz, I don't see many basic blocks sets. .
Young kids--at least, myself, my friends, and my siblings when we were in gradeschool--could care less about following complicated instructions to build what the Lego creators think looks good! Lego needs to get back to the basics and let young kids create their own solutions using the the materials at hand.
So, in a sense, I guess Lego has lost a bit of focus. Their mindstorm sets, etc are very cool ideas but really have a limited market segment. As a company, maybe they should hire some child psychologists and take stock of what they're offering.
When I first decided to get my feet wet in linux, SuSE was the install I chose, unfortunately because the fellow idiot at CompUSA (I wanted a boxed version with a MANUAL for my first try) nodded his head vigorously and told me that it would be the best for me.
.At the time, the documentation stunk--I thought--really. . .the translation on the manual was incomplete and horrible, although and I thought that the direction to 'masterbooten' was pretty funny. ;o) In addition, I, a windows neophyte, had to learn to compile and install the tulip driver for my network card in order to get networking. That was a trip in itself.
Well, I think that was SuSE 5.x something. .
Now, with SuSE 7.x, its freakin easy to get going with their new installer, tulip is included (I'm pretty sure), and everything goes so smooth a monkey could set up a great linux box. They're moving in the right direction!
I couldn't say this a few years ago, but NEWBIES, GO GET SUSE! Its cheap, comes with a TON of stuff, has a nice manual, and the installation is VERY smooth.
-s
Bone weakening? Lost teeth? Sounds like the normal effect of a 'geek' diet to me. Bring it on!
-s
Didn't see these posted, so check these out:
;o)
SharkyExtreme, and pcmag.com.
Naturally, those seeking the zdnet advertising-big money-enhanced (tm) view should choose the latter, while those seeking that of an enthusiast should check out Sharky's.
-S
I started reading this report expecting a Napster-esque sensationalist attack on P2P sharing aimed at putting normally near-comatose congresspeople on the edge of their seats. However, I was pleasently surprised.
:o)
To be honest, yes there's a not-so-subtle bias in play in this document. Well, gee, what do you expect? BUT on the other hand, it makes some good points. I particularly appreciated the britney spears example, because I've babysitted a few young children who are computer saavy, and I can imagine them running into just that sort of thing by mistake down the line.
Now, while I respect its findings, I'm sure I'll disagree with the government's solution. But in the meantime, don't piss on the messenger, wait to see what congress does to P2P as a result and piss on that instead.
-S
What they really need is cell phones that sound like a frosty cold refreshing beer can opening. That would draw everyones attention, including mine.
here and here. These are from PcMag.com
I'd term them both as cautiously enthusiastic.
-s
Well, whatever else happens, there'll at least be ONE person buying an Xbox. This guy gets aroused just thinking about it.
"The Microsoft designers reinforced the idea of Xbox's unforeseen potential and power by putting a raised "jewel" on the top of the console. Luke compares it to a porthole on a furnace, nuclear submarine or atomic collider. "You can see the fire inside burning," Luke explained." . . . . riiiiiiight.
The first time I tried to install Linux, it was from an early version of Suse. I was pretty much hopeless with computers a the time--I managed to wipe my harddrive out not once, but three times. However, in light of the horrible Suse manual and my own ignorance experimentation was the only way to learn.
That said, here's some of the things I learned from the experience:
One other thing: as soon as you get up and running, one of the first things you should learn about if you're on a network is SECURITY. You've got this nice box: now lock it up tight so it stays yours. The first time I installed Red Hat I had no idea what services (or even what a 'service' was. .
Hope this helps at least some. Good luck!!
-s
Yeah, and 400 million transistors gives a lot of room for design slop--more space for slapping together pre-designed components.
Any idiot can make a circuit that adds two 1-bit numbers. Any idiot can also string 128 of 1-bit adders together to make a 128-bit adder. That's how damn near *all* logic circuits are designed. Wash, rinse, and repeat. No big deal.
Sure, any idiot can string together 128 1-bit adders, but designing a 128 bit adder to run at that high of a clock speed takes a bit more work. It would have to use some kind of carry-lookahead logic trick to get everything it needed done in one cycle. Point being, putting together a solid, optimized component like that DOES take some serious design time--if for nothing else to but to do the math using a CAD program or espresso. And if that takes effort, getting your stuff to play nice at a high enough clock speed must take more!
I'm far and away no pro [yet] at this sort of thing, but from what I've done myself so far (just introductory digital design stuff, building components and simple clocked machines) it would take a long time to put together something this complex and do it right. Witness the P4.
-s
Good lord thats a lot. This should fill in nicely while molecular computing advances to the point of commercial feasibility as a technology.
:o)
However, one thing that amazes me even more is how much effort its going to take to actually design a chip that uses 400 mil transistors! I'm a computer engineering student: designing small stuff using just a few is enough for me.
I guess Intel'll be hiring soon.
-S
I am a huge fan of Sci Fi/Fantasy (mostly due to the fact that I'm a permanent escapist), and I wanted to put in a few words of comparison between K.J.A and Frank Herbert.
.I am a huge Star Wars fan, and I've read each of his 'Rouge Squadron' books. They are trips into a sappy hell, reminding me more of a futuristic "Hardy Boys" than Star Wars! Almost evey chapter of his early works ends with some character speaking a runon sentance dripping with determination and grit. Annoying. And this is not limited to just this series either.
Don't get me wrong, Anderson is not a bad writer. Although he has his faults, I think that his stlye makes him very accessible for everyone. However, thats just what annoys me about him and what sets him far apart from Tolkien, Herbert, Orson Scott Card, and the like.
The absolute worst problem I have with Mr. Anderson's writing is the overwhelming reliance on cliche
KJA writes a LOT of cliche into his novels! Good lord. .
When I first read Herbert, I LOVED it because it felt like he was relating history to me. It felt like these things had already happened and he was simply recording the events. This combined with the realistic complexity of his universe made it seem so real! Tolkien gave me much the same effect in that he fills in ALL of the gray areas in his creations. Every race has a language he created just for it (He was a philologist). Both Tolkien and Herbert are similar in the amounts of time they spent mapping out their creations before writing.
Frankly, I dont want to see anyone else write within the Dune universe. You've noticed that no-one else has written within the LOTR universe (minus a few kids books I know of), and the people who HAVE expanded the Star Wars universe without George Lucas have often annoyed me. The whole process seems like putting on someone else's clothes, almost--and they certainly don't always fit right.
If only good authors lived forever!
-s
I browsed through the site and have a few thoughts to offer.
.02
You know, I'm sure everyone's heard this, but let me say it again: no matter how neat, cool, amazing, awesome, etc of an idea they present, 3d window managers will never become mainstream as long as they're presented in 2d space. I.e., your computer monitor!
Frankly, I appreciate the philosophy behind presenting data in 3d. There are a lot pf possibilities there. However, I can see how it would confuse and turn off a lot of people when viewed in 2-space.
Now, imagine the same idea presented on something like THIS!! That's where we're heading, folks, and I can hardly wait.
My
-s
Hey, check this out, courtesy of Ars. It presents an alternate viewpoint using different means. I remembered reading this not too long ago. Interesting read. . .and to add a spoiler, it definitely recommends the Fraunhoffer over LAME and BladeEnc.
-s
These sound great. . .but from what I'm getting from the article and the word 'ambient' is that they wouldn't work so well in anything other than bright light. Thats a bummer for a lot of potential applications of an otherwise great idea. . .
Still, maybe its a useful idea to combine with existing LCD tech? Imagine a handheld that no longer had the dissapearing-screen-in-bright-sunlight effect we all know and love! Perhaps add these fibers in addition to a backlight and we'd be talking big-time potential for improvement.
-s
C60 means 60 atoms of carbon twelve covalently bonded. This means that the atoms share electrons with their neighbors as opposed to passing electrons around. Covelant bonds are an extremely stable type of chemical bond.
I found this article to be somewhat dissapointing. I was hoping that the researchers had come up with a way to concretely take an atom and use it as a logic gate. Instead, they 'used a solution' of atoms in-between electrodes and noticed that the solution had the properties of a transistor. Then they got 'excellent' correllation that there were in fact buckyballs in there.
Hopefully the day is not long off where one can take indidual molecules and string them together to perform complex boolean operations at the molecular level. When that happens, molecular computing will be a reality. But it ain't there yet. . . .
-s
Ok.
In reply to everyone who is looking down the end of their noses at Shawn due to his age:
SHUT UP.
Shawn Fanning is young, sure. But at the same time I know hundreds of adults--including professors at this institution--who would not and could not handle themselves with the same control and poise as he has.
I'm not supporting his ideas (thats for other posts), but I am going to defend attacks on his ability through his age. Senators seem to be taking him seriously--can't you too? Instead of making snide remarks about how 'kids like him' need to go out and play, think about how, despite the handicap of being a 'teenager' in a society conditioned to look down on young people, he has managed to become on of the most influential people in two spheres of computing.
-s