Ouch... that's a statement I wouldn't be happy about if I were a Microsoft engineer: We don't need you guys anymore to grow in this market. "They can jump in if they like, but hey, we got Linux, so we don't care." If I were Steve Ballmer, this would feel as a punch on the nose (Oh, and I wouldn't waste my time posting on Slashdot)
The main reason why not more power is extracted is the loss of comfort for the human being. You can compare it with cooling down quickly when standing in a cold breeze after doing some exercise.
Your laptop is not very efficient with power. IMEC (and especially the Dutch department in the Holst Centre) is not only working on the energy harvesters, but also on more efficient electronics, both digital and analog. Ok, powering your laptop is not possible in the near future, but more than a wristwatch should definitely be possible. For example heart problem or epileptic detection devices. The power budget we aim at is an average power consumption in the magnitude of hundreds of microwats, which is more than enough for some applications.
Disclaimer: I work at the Holst Centre, but anything I write here is my own opinion and is not necessarily the official opinion of my employer.
Why did I got attracted to WoW ? The cool graphics and huge variety in the areas.
Why did I abandon WoW ? - Walking around takes forever (even with a mount) - The variety in gameplay was disappointing - User interface issues (yes I know you can modify most of it, but not all) - After a while it is more of the same - If you want to play it without looking up on the internet what you have to do it will take forever to find what you need.
In other words: Graphics are nice, especially to attract people. But (especially for subscription based games), in the end game play is WAY more important.
I notice that I quite often prefer my MSX (2) games over modern PC games... 16 or 256 colors, and pixels big enough to build a house with...
Here in Europe (and more specifically the Netherlands), people who didn't do their Masters are regularly considered lazy guys since we have come from a system where you always did your Master, and now you "drop out early" if you don't.
Also you can get a BSc from a school which is definitely not an University, which basically pollutes that title.
Various reports on the internet (Just google for PAE perormance penalty) report between 1 and 20% performance penalty for PAE enabled systems. Ok, it is clear that there is no single true answer, but I think it is clear PAE is not the holy grail. I know memory doesn't cost anything anymore, but upgrading from 3 to 4 GB might not bring what you expect on a 32 bit system.
That said, if you really need that much mem there is IMHO no excuse not to use a proper 64 bit processor.
Graphite is made of carbon, carbon can be made from CO2, CO2 is made by your car. Soon you can refit your exhaust pipe with a miniature chip factory and have Oxigen as only exhaust gas. And you have to ask WHY ?! Wonder what the ratio is between the price of sold chips and the price per gallon of gasoline...
Except that although nobody exactly knows what a foton is, it is known not to be an electron. And these transistors happen to be designed for the latter...
Re:Anything else out there?
on
The State of X.Org
·
· Score: 2, Informative
I think the main thing that holds back X (either.org or free86) is the legacy mess. What we see as X is actually a combination of the graphics drivers and a windowing system.
There used to be the KGI project trying to seperate them and stabilizing the interface for the drivers, now Fedora is trying it again with kernel level mode setting, and I think this is something we need to clean up the mess.
Furthermore the windowing system is so generic and bloated that it is a nightmare to maintain. Even basic features are extensions already...
Oh and of course: X is not sexy... hacking window managers is on the other hand...
Leaves the question: what does X need ? What should X focus on in the near future ?
Sorry to say but this new feature uhm well... sucks. If I were unable to turn it off I'd probably not read/. any more. Screen layout is a mess and there is a tendency to show only uninteresting stories. Let's RTFM how to get rid of it...
Working at the largest Dutch Electronics Company, using Linux only. I have no root, never needed it. I can change all files I got to change, or call the owner of the files if I can't. Never have to install software, or can do it within my own account. They got a system that I can choose between 10 gcc versions, 4 matlab versions, 3 gimp versions, etc. With just one single command I change gcc release. Works fluently.
If someone is looking for alternatives, look at XGGI, part of the the GGI project. Together with directfb or KGI(currently focussing at BSD, but the Linux core is there too) it's really powerfull.
Now that is funny... LG claims the opposite... But they claim they support only Slackware 2.0, which of course comes with a kernel that doesn't support the "FLUSH_LG_DRIVES" command.
The kernel Mandrake uses enables a feature on CDROM drives. This kernel feature is officially not production stable yet, so other distro's don't use it YET. LG drives with buggy firmware die if this feature is enabled. LG doesn't support Linux, so this problem doesn't exist in their eyes.
Conclusion: It will happen to ANY distribution that uses kernels with this enabled. Mandrake unfortunately hit the trigger first in an attempt to have a slightly too cool kernel.
Ever looked at Mandrake ? It usually is rated better than RedHat on the desktop (and servers) these days, besides it is the closest to RedHat of all other distributions. And of course, if you're now willing to pay, just download the CDs and do it all by yourself.
Both KGI and GGI are alive and kicking at the moment. KGI, the Kernel Graphics Interface is almost rewritten from scratch, and GGI the user level library is developping very well.
Slashdot Mirror
Ouch... that's a statement I wouldn't be happy about if I were a Microsoft engineer: We don't need you guys anymore to grow in this market. "They can jump in if they like, but hey, we got Linux, so we don't care." If I were Steve Ballmer, this would feel as a punch on the nose (Oh, and I wouldn't waste my time posting on Slashdot)
You are true, but:
The main reason why not more power is extracted is the loss of comfort for the human being. You can compare it with cooling down quickly when standing in a cold breeze after doing some exercise.
Your laptop is not very efficient with power. IMEC (and especially the Dutch department in the Holst Centre) is not only working on the energy harvesters, but also on more efficient electronics, both digital and analog. Ok, powering your laptop is not possible in the near future, but more than a wristwatch should definitely be possible. For example heart problem or epileptic detection devices. The power budget we aim at is an average power consumption in the magnitude of hundreds of microwats, which is more than enough for some applications.
Disclaimer: I work at the Holst Centre, but anything I write here is my own opinion and is not necessarily the official opinion of my employer.
Why did I got attracted to WoW ? The cool graphics and huge variety in the areas.
Why did I abandon WoW ?
- Walking around takes forever (even with a mount)
- The variety in gameplay was disappointing
- User interface issues (yes I know you can modify most of it, but not all)
- After a while it is more of the same
- If you want to play it without looking up on the internet what you have to do it will take forever to find what you need.
In other words: Graphics are nice, especially to attract people. But (especially for subscription based games), in the end game play is WAY more important.
I notice that I quite often prefer my MSX (2) games over modern PC games... 16 or 256 colors, and pixels big enough to build a house with...
Uhm any Bachelor title that is, not only BSc
Here in Europe (and more specifically the Netherlands), people who didn't do their Masters are regularly considered lazy guys since we have come from a system where you always did your Master, and now you "drop out early" if you don't.
Also you can get a BSc from a school which is definitely not an University, which basically pollutes that title.
Minor detail:
Various reports on the internet (Just google for PAE perormance penalty) report between 1 and 20% performance penalty for PAE enabled systems. Ok, it is clear that there is no single true answer, but I think it is clear PAE is not the holy grail. I know memory doesn't cost anything anymore, but upgrading from 3 to 4 GB might not bring what you expect on a 32 bit system.
That said, if you really need that much mem there is IMHO no excuse not to use a proper 64 bit processor.
Oh come on, you must have an opinion !
Hmmm missing feature on slashdot: Modding yourself away
Graphite is made of carbon, carbon can be made from CO2, CO2 is made by your car. Soon you can refit your exhaust pipe with a miniature chip factory and have Oxigen as only exhaust gas. And you have to ask WHY ?! Wonder what the ratio is between the price of sold chips and the price per gallon of gasoline...
Except that although nobody exactly knows what a foton is, it is known not to be an electron. And these transistors happen to be designed for the latter...
Running 26 GHz is nice, but... Does it run Linux ?
Does it run linux ?
I think the main thing that holds back X (either .org or free86) is the legacy mess. What we see as X is actually a combination of the graphics drivers and a windowing system.
...
There used to be the KGI project trying to seperate them and stabilizing the interface for the drivers, now Fedora is trying it again with kernel level mode setting, and I think this is something we need to clean up the mess.
Furthermore the windowing system is so generic and bloated that it is a nightmare to maintain. Even basic features are extensions already
Oh and of course: X is not sexy... hacking window managers is on the other hand...
Leaves the question: what does X need ? What should X focus on in the near future ?
Does it run Linux ?
Sorry to say but this new feature uhm well... sucks. If I were unable to turn it off I'd probably not read /. any more. Screen layout is a mess and there is a tendency to show only uninteresting stories. Let's RTFM how to get rid of it...
Working at the largest Dutch Electronics Company, using Linux only. I have no root, never needed it. I can change all files I got to change, or call the owner of the files if I can't. Never have to install software, or can do it within my own account. They got a system that I can choose between 10 gcc versions, 4 matlab versions, 3 gimp versions, etc. With just one single command I change gcc release. Works fluently.
Whoever needs root has very bad sysadmins.
If someone is looking for alternatives, look at XGGI, part of the the GGI project. Together with directfb or KGI(currently focussing at BSD, but the Linux core is there too) it's really powerfull.
Anyone looking for lightweight X ? Try XGGI ! Works directly on framebugger, or even better, on KGI !
Now that is funny... LG claims the opposite... But they claim they support only Slackware 2.0, which of course comes with a kernel that doesn't support the "FLUSH_LG_DRIVES" command.
The kernel Mandrake uses enables a feature on CDROM drives. This kernel feature is officially not production stable yet, so other distro's don't use it YET. LG drives with buggy firmware die if this feature is enabled. LG doesn't support Linux, so this problem doesn't exist in their eyes.
Conclusion: It will happen to ANY distribution that uses kernels with this enabled. Mandrake unfortunately hit the trigger first in an attempt to have a slightly too cool kernel.
If a normal petrol engine wouldn't need a gearbox, it would be about 40 % more efficient... that's why...
Ever looked at Mandrake ? It usually is rated better than RedHat on the desktop (and servers) these days, besides it is the closest to RedHat of all other distributions. And of course, if you're now willing to pay, just download the CDs and do it all by yourself.
Both KGI and GGI are alive and kicking at the moment. KGI, the Kernel Graphics Interface is almost rewritten from scratch, and GGI the user level library is developping very well.
Please click the links for more info.
142 percent seems nice. Now try compiling the kernel make -j2 on the single processor system and show me the real results.