For those developers who work on GNOME and would like a GUI tool similar to KCachegrind, you can check out Alleyoop, developed by Jeffrey Stedfast of Ximian. I've not actually used the tool, just seen it mentioned recently and didn't want GNOME developers left out in the cold. If anyone could provide a comparison between the two Valgrind GUIs, I'm sure there are many in the community that would appreciate it.
You mention "some very readable, accessible [HCI] books targeted at software people" -- are there any particular research papers or books to which you could provide pointers?
Can anyone compare/contrast the Kinesis ergo keyboards with the Maltron Ergonomic Keyboard? The Maltron is quite a bit more expensive (nearly double the price) -- is there anything in particular that makes it worth it? I notice it has the numeric keypad in the center, something the Kinesis keyboards lack & something I tend to like to miss whenever I don't have one (i.e., working on a friend's laptop). Also, I know the Kinesis keyboards use a PS/2 connector, but I find no info on the Maltron site about what type of connector it uses, other than the fact that it is both Mac & PC compatable.
I'd just like some feedback before I go shelling out two weeks of my pay instead of paying for food -- ahh, the joys of being a college student;-)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this article here on Slashdot. I always prefer getting thoughts & opinions from their source. I was wondering if you could comment on the following quote from the Byte column:
Another very important change is that the swap is now additional to the RAM, just like in 2.2 times. All earlier 2.4 kernels (since 2.3.12) needed at least the same amount of RAM in swap and then more to give you additional virtual memory. This meant that on an 8-GB server, you needed to put aside almost a full 9-GB disk just to be able to swap, similar to some versions of Solaris or other UNIXes.
It seems like using swap like this would be an incredible waste of space, as the article points out & I was wondering if this is in fact the case with your VM & if so, could you provide a technical explanation for why you feel it is necessary?
Major thanks for all your work from a measly college student in awe of kernel hackers like you.:-)
I was just wondering if you would share some of the sites you favor in place of Slashdot. I'm not about to give up Slashdot, but I really need more sources of detailed tech-related news to keep me busy (mostly so I can avoid doing homework).
I went browsing through the FAQ & looking through this article, but I can't find any reference to what version of the Linux kernel Slashdot uses. In looking through the FAQ I saw mention that the old slashdot servers were running Debian Frozen & RedHat 6.2...I'm just wondering if Slashdot is using the most up-to-date versions of the kernel (in the 2.2 series @ least) as most of the latest in the 2.2 series were released to deal with security issues.
If Slashdot does use up-to-date kernels to avoid security holes, how do they go about updating their servers...a new kernel would force them to have to reboot the servers...do they just do each server one at a time? Or do they rely upon their BSD filtering box & routers/switches to keep the site secure & not worry so much about updating the kernel on the web servers? And if so, what about keeping the BSD box up-to-date? It seems for a production site on the scale of Slashdot that finding the proper balance b/w keeping the machines secure with things like up-to-date kernels & packages & having to maintain the stability & uptime of the site must be an incredibly challenging task.
These thoughts are brought to you by my spending too much time using nmap -O recently.:-)
-pepermil
How Do You Manage Branches in Code?
on
Mozilla 0.9 Out
·
· Score: 1
Ok, this question isn't really Netscape/Mozilla-specific, but considering some of the discussion going on (particularly, those mentioning the new theme being developed in the latest nightly builds of Mozilla) I thought I would ask. How do developers go about handling branches in code to produce a stable version such as 0.9 while there is still a lot of development work being done with nightly builds & such? It seems like a lot of double work to have to add a patch back to both the release & development branches, but is that the only way it can be done? And considering how long with something the size of Mozilla it must take to actually get the stable branch releasable, a lot has probably changed in the development release--how is this all reconciled? I am always amazed reading about the work involved in such complicated pieces of software like Netscape, Linux, *BSD, GNOME, etc. b/c it just seems like the whole concept of merging of code & having different branches must add so much complication to the whole process of coding. Are there any good sites or books that would explain how this is all handled (I'm guessing knowing more details about such things as CVS would help, so if anyone has some pointers there, it would also be appreciated)? Thx.
Ok, this may seem a little basic, but how do you go about getting plugins to work for Mozilla? Is there a link out there that'll describe the process? I'm on a Windows box (unfortunately), and whenever I grab plugin installers (like Flash, Shockwave, QuickTime) they all detect my installs of IE & Netscape 4.7x (don't have Netscape 6 installed). But none notice that I have Mozilla (usually, unzipped from a nightly build), so how can I get Mozilla to handle these plugins? Thx.
I think the whole idea of whether Apple is in the right (both legally & morally) has already been hammered enough as it is from this posting. But my question relates to the APSL. I'm definitely nowhere near a lawyer (I personally think trying to decipher any sort of license agreement is worse than trying to understand any code ever written). But in reading the APSL (http://publicsouce.apple.com/apsl/ - found above) it almost seems as though from section 3(a) that anyone that modifies any code Apple has released under the license is required to release those modifications back to the community. Am I reading this license wrong? Are they only required to release the modifications back to Apple? I'm just trying to understand the license better for a better perspective on Apple's stance on open source. If anyone could explain it for me (or point me to some links), it would be greatly appreciated.
I gotta say, I haven't bought myself a real 3d-powerhouse video card. But being the techie I am, I do obsess over them & I just have to give nVidia some immense props for all the work they did on this card. I haven't had a chance to read over all the tech previews (nor have I heard of there being any official benchmarkings of actual cards yet), but it sounds like they've definitely put a lot of work into this card.
I do agree that it's really really insane for a video card to cost $600. But the fact is, if you don't want to pay $600, you don't have to. Right now, a GeForce 2 will more than get you by, & with the release of the GeForce 3, the cost for a 2 should hopefully drop dramatically (I know I have my fingers crossed!:-) And there are people out there willing to pay the $600 for the video cards, otherwise companies like nVidia wouldn't be making them (simple laws of supply and demand). And to those people that do buy the cards, I have to thank them, simply b/c it lowers the price on cards that more than suit my needs.
As for the technology, hopefully once I make it through my classes today, I'll have some time to sit down & really try to grasp all this 3d-techno-wonder stuff that nVidia's apparently whipped up for us all. Even if I don't buy a GeForce 3, I still love the engineering efforts that went into designing it and love trying to learn about what those efforts produced.
So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, that these cards do apparently have a place in the market, even if it's not for you or me, and it actually benefits us as well, by bringing more powerful cards down into our budgets. Plus the fact that it just gives all us techies lots of new reading material. So, I don't see any reason to complain.:-)
-pepermil
In response to your durable mice question, if you check out the link timothy provided to Man & Machine, you'll see they do offer a waterproof mouse...no idea how well it works, but just answering your question...for a more direct link to the mice, try this.
Slashdot Mirror
For those developers who work on GNOME and would like a GUI tool similar to KCachegrind, you can check out Alleyoop, developed by Jeffrey Stedfast of Ximian. I've not actually used the tool, just seen it mentioned recently and didn't want GNOME developers left out in the cold. If anyone could provide a comparison between the two Valgrind GUIs, I'm sure there are many in the community that would appreciate it.
You mention "some very readable, accessible [HCI] books targeted at software people" -- are there any particular research papers or books to which you could provide pointers?
Can anyone compare/contrast the Kinesis ergo keyboards with the Maltron Ergonomic Keyboard? The Maltron is quite a bit more expensive (nearly double the price) -- is there anything in particular that makes it worth it? I notice it has the numeric keypad in the center, something the Kinesis keyboards lack & something I tend to like to miss whenever I don't have one (i.e., working on a friend's laptop). Also, I know the Kinesis keyboards use a PS/2 connector, but I find no info on the Maltron site about what type of connector it uses, other than the fact that it is both Mac & PC compatable.
;-)
I'd just like some feedback before I go shelling out two weeks of my pay instead of paying for food -- ahh, the joys of being a college student
Rik,
:-)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this article here on Slashdot. I always prefer getting thoughts & opinions from their source. I was wondering if you could comment on the following quote from the Byte column:
Another very important change is that the swap is now additional to the RAM, just like in 2.2 times. All earlier 2.4 kernels (since 2.3.12) needed at least the same amount of RAM in swap and then more to give you additional virtual memory. This meant that on an 8-GB server, you needed to put aside almost a full 9-GB disk just to be able to swap, similar to some versions of Solaris or other UNIXes.
It seems like using swap like this would be an incredible waste of space, as the article points out & I was wondering if this is in fact the case with your VM & if so, could you provide a technical explanation for why you feel it is necessary?
Major thanks for all your work from a measly college student in awe of kernel hackers like you.
I was just wondering if you would share some of the sites you favor in place of Slashdot. I'm not about to give up Slashdot, but I really need more sources of detailed tech-related news to keep me busy (mostly so I can avoid doing homework).
I went browsing through the FAQ & looking through this article, but I can't find any reference to what version of the Linux kernel Slashdot uses. In looking through the FAQ I saw mention that the old slashdot servers were running Debian Frozen & RedHat 6.2...I'm just wondering if Slashdot is using the most up-to-date versions of the kernel (in the 2.2 series @ least) as most of the latest in the 2.2 series were released to deal with security issues.
:-)
If Slashdot does use up-to-date kernels to avoid security holes, how do they go about updating their servers...a new kernel would force them to have to reboot the servers...do they just do each server one at a time? Or do they rely upon their BSD filtering box & routers/switches to keep the site secure & not worry so much about updating the kernel on the web servers? And if so, what about keeping the BSD box up-to-date? It seems for a production site on the scale of Slashdot that finding the proper balance b/w keeping the machines secure with things like up-to-date kernels & packages & having to maintain the stability & uptime of the site must be an incredibly challenging task.
These thoughts are brought to you by my spending too much time using nmap -O recently.
-pepermil
Ok, this question isn't really Netscape/Mozilla-specific, but considering some of the discussion going on (particularly, those mentioning the new theme being developed in the latest nightly builds of Mozilla) I thought I would ask. How do developers go about handling branches in code to produce a stable version such as 0.9 while there is still a lot of development work being done with nightly builds & such? It seems like a lot of double work to have to add a patch back to both the release & development branches, but is that the only way it can be done? And considering how long with something the size of Mozilla it must take to actually get the stable branch releasable, a lot has probably changed in the development release--how is this all reconciled? I am always amazed reading about the work involved in such complicated pieces of software like Netscape, Linux, *BSD, GNOME, etc. b/c it just seems like the whole concept of merging of code & having different branches must add so much complication to the whole process of coding. Are there any good sites or books that would explain how this is all handled (I'm guessing knowing more details about such things as CVS would help, so if anyone has some pointers there, it would also be appreciated)? Thx.
-pepermil
Ok, this may seem a little basic, but how do you go about getting plugins to work for Mozilla? Is there a link out there that'll describe the process? I'm on a Windows box (unfortunately), and whenever I grab plugin installers (like Flash, Shockwave, QuickTime) they all detect my installs of IE & Netscape 4.7x (don't have Netscape 6 installed). But none notice that I have Mozilla (usually, unzipped from a nightly build), so how can I get Mozilla to handle these plugins? Thx.
-pepermil
I think the whole idea of whether Apple is in the right (both legally & morally) has already been hammered enough as it is from this posting. But my question relates to the APSL. I'm definitely nowhere near a lawyer (I personally think trying to decipher any sort of license agreement is worse than trying to understand any code ever written). But in reading the APSL (http://publicsouce.apple.com/apsl/ - found above) it almost seems as though from section 3(a) that anyone that modifies any code Apple has released under the license is required to release those modifications back to the community. Am I reading this license wrong? Are they only required to release the modifications back to Apple? I'm just trying to understand the license better for a better perspective on Apple's stance on open source. If anyone could explain it for me (or point me to some links), it would be greatly appreciated.
--
pepermil
I gotta say, I haven't bought myself a real 3d-powerhouse video card. But being the techie I am, I do obsess over them & I just have to give nVidia some immense props for all the work they did on this card. I haven't had a chance to read over all the tech previews (nor have I heard of there being any official benchmarkings of actual cards yet), but it sounds like they've definitely put a lot of work into this card. :-) And there are people out there willing to pay the $600 for the video cards, otherwise companies like nVidia wouldn't be making them (simple laws of supply and demand). And to those people that do buy the cards, I have to thank them, simply b/c it lowers the price on cards that more than suit my needs.
:-)
I do agree that it's really really insane for a video card to cost $600. But the fact is, if you don't want to pay $600, you don't have to. Right now, a GeForce 2 will more than get you by, & with the release of the GeForce 3, the cost for a 2 should hopefully drop dramatically (I know I have my fingers crossed!
As for the technology, hopefully once I make it through my classes today, I'll have some time to sit down & really try to grasp all this 3d-techno-wonder stuff that nVidia's apparently whipped up for us all. Even if I don't buy a GeForce 3, I still love the engineering efforts that went into designing it and love trying to learn about what those efforts produced.
So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, that these cards do apparently have a place in the market, even if it's not for you or me, and it actually benefits us as well, by bringing more powerful cards down into our budgets. Plus the fact that it just gives all us techies lots of new reading material. So, I don't see any reason to complain.
-pepermil
Oops, sorry guys (& gals)...the HardOCP link I copied was wrong (they didn't have one of them set up quite right on their page). Here's the working one:t ech/index.html
http://www.hardocp.com/articles/nvidia_stuff/gf_3
-pepermil
In case anyone wants a quick link to the other big reviews...i dia_geforce3_preview/
t ech/i
Sharky Extreme: http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/articles/nv
AnandTech: http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1426
HardOCP: http://www.hardocp.com/articles/nvidia_stuff/gf3_
-pepermil
In response to your durable mice question, if you check out the link timothy provided to Man & Machine, you'll see they do offer a waterproof mouse...no idea how well it works, but just answering your question...for a more direct link to the mice, try this.