But it really depends on the requirements of the code that you are writing...
Coding a time-critical interrupt service routine is a lot different than coding an instant messenger GUI or a word processor. Sometimes knowing the base hardware and coding directly for it is the only way to get a task done. Knuth's optimization rule doesn't make sense if you are trying to squeeze every last cycle out of a hardware-specific routine.
As usual, no one methodology covers all cases. The right tool for the job, etc.
I still think that it's extremely important for a programmer to understand what's happening at the lowest level in the target system. It's also very important for low-level work such as bios code and for small system programming. On some small embedded systems, a programmer can actually be concerned about efficient stack use, etc, and if you have limited RAM, the bloated spew that a C compiler puts out just might not be acceptable.
Understanding of assembly / machine code can also be quite important for hardware people. Example: when debugging a new board design with a logic analyzer hooked up to the system's buses, C/C++ knowledge isn't going to help decipher that long list of numbers being transferred from RAM to processor.
Assuming 3 LED colors (RGB), best bet would be a 3-channel PWM driver- this could be implemented in a microcontroller such as a PIC, which could also handle the serial side of things. PWM will allow control of brightness in each LED.
An alternate method would be three D->A converters with current outputs, but the PWM method would probably be easier.
Not quite... the diagram they show is sort of deceptive.
What they show is a typical hologram recording setup, but with an LCD instead of the actual 3D object.
Seems that use of this method would require multiple exposures in order to recreate 3d as perceived in the finished hologram- as the CAD object on the LCD is rotated, the mirror at point #3 would have to change angle in order to change the incidence angle of the laser on the film.
This is nothing *really* new, except that it looks like they are using really large film plates and an LCD in place of the actual object.
Another (much more difficult) way to produce computer-generated holograms would require a huge amount of processing power. A standard hologram captures the interference pattern generated by the incidence of the object and reference light beams. If a display existed with fine enough resolution to display such an interference pattern, a computer could conceivably generate realtime holographic displays by calculating the interference pattern for a particular scene. Would need a huge amount of processing power and display technology that's not quite commonplace just yet.
I kind of like this idea. If a useful browser/email client were included in flash, the computer would be instantly useful without installation of any O/S. Maybe this is what some people need- just pick up a cheap PC to use as a browser, no need for a HD, etc.
This could also be useful for initial net-based O/S installation or download. Having basic tools available in ROM could ease a lot of tasks- include a browser, an FTP client, a telnet client, and disk partitioning/formatting software, for example.
In a way, this brings back ideas from old personal computers. Old machines often had BASIC in ROM- you could use the machine with no storage and no preload of software.
I've had this problem for a while with many versions of Evolution when pulled via Red Carpet.
Problem seems to be with the gnome-gtkhtml-editor
binary.
rpm -q -f/usr/bin/gnome-gtkhtml-editor showed that
there were TWO packages installed that provided this
binary:
gtkhtml-0.15.0-ximian.2.i586.rpm
libgtkhtml9-0.9.2-ximian.5.i586.rpm
Solution: Remove both of the above packages:
rpm -e gtkhtml-0.15.0
rpm -e libgtkhtml9-0.9.2
Now reinstall 0.15.0 from Red Carpet's package
cache:
BTW, the above box runs Mandrake 8.0; I'm not sure
if the above discrepancy is due to many previous
versions of Evolution being installed or due to
broken/duplicate dependancies for Mdk 8.0...
$125 for three switches, an Rpak, and a connector? Wow, that seems steep considering the cost of the parts.
I've modified a couple of Athlon 500s (which both turned out to actually be 650's based on the legend on the chip itself) to overclock at 750. It just involves moving a few SMT resistors. This board just gives you easier access to selections that are already possible.
As if the username password stuff wasn't bad enough...
They sent me the spam about the free e-mail account, complete with a username/password for a domain that I have nothing to do with!
The domain was sodergren2-dom; I'm not in any of the contact information for this domain. I have nothing to do with this domain. The only connection is that I share a last name with this domain.
Don't they know how to utilize their own whois database? Maybe copyright issues prevent them from using it...
I think that many religious people misinterpret the standpoint of many atheists- atheism only indicates that a belief is not present; it does not indicate a belief in the absence of something.
'Lack of belief in xxx' does not equal 'belief in the lack of xxx'.
In a book on atheism that I recently read, the author points out that all children are atheists when born- not because of refusal to believe in one thing or another, but because they do not yet have the experiences on which to base theistic beliefs.
Strange, the claim that this device is first. Even the device number is strangely similar to AMD's SC400, which is a 486-100 core with all typical motherboard peripherals on-board (minus memory). BTW, the SC400 does run linux nicely.
Maybe the new National chip contains a higher level of integration than previous devices, but it's still hardly the 'first'. What about National's previous attempt at this sort of thing, which was based on a 486 core and lacked an MMU, if I recall correctly.
Al Gore would be the worst imaginable president? I can think of worse; the name Pat Robertson comes to mind.
Don't take this to mean I like Gore- I won't vote for him. But most of the points in these articles are nonsense.
Actually, environmental issues would be one of the first things I look at in a candidate's platform, but I think Gore's full ignorance and hot air on this one. But attempting to discredit someone with a pro-environment standpoint by pointing out that the Unabom suspect held similar views is absurd; that would be like trying to discredit all libertarians based on what McVeigh (supposedly) did, or all Christians based on those involved in womens' clinic attacks.
As far as Gore's technical savvy, I think he more or less thoroughly discredited himself in this area long ago.
I wonder who the Natural Law party will put in the race? How about the Libertarians? It's a shame that we tend to think that there are only two real choices, two that invariably turn out to be slightly different flavors of the same pile of trash.
This thing is based on an AMD Elan SC400... these are also available in a 100MHz version, drop-in compatible (err, solder-in...)
Additionally, the 66MHz version can be overclocked by setting some bits in an internal register; it'll do 100MHz, but it might not be reliable. The whole CPU uses a single 32KHz crystal; all operating clocks are created by internal PLLs.
It's really a nice chip; more or less an AT- motherboard on a single BGA device.
Slashdot Mirror
But it really depends on the requirements of the code that you are writing...
Coding a time-critical interrupt service routine is a lot different than coding an instant messenger GUI or a word processor. Sometimes knowing the base hardware and coding directly for it is the only way to get a task done. Knuth's optimization rule doesn't make sense if you are trying to squeeze every last cycle out of a hardware-specific routine.
As usual, no one methodology covers all cases. The right tool for the job, etc.
I still think that it's extremely important for a programmer to understand what's happening at the lowest level in the target system. It's also very important for low-level work such as bios code and for small system programming. On some small embedded systems, a programmer can actually be concerned about efficient stack use, etc, and if you have limited RAM, the bloated spew that a C compiler puts out just might not be acceptable.
Understanding of assembly / machine code can also be quite important for hardware people. Example: when debugging a new board design with a logic analyzer hooked up to the system's buses, C/C++ knowledge isn't going to help decipher that long list of numbers being transferred from RAM to processor.
Relays won't give you much range.
Assuming 3 LED colors (RGB), best bet would be a 3-channel PWM driver- this could be implemented in a microcontroller such as a PIC, which could also handle the serial side of things. PWM will allow control of brightness in each LED.
An alternate method would be three D->A converters with current outputs, but the PWM method would probably be easier.
Not quite... the diagram they show is sort of deceptive.
What they show is a typical hologram recording setup, but with an LCD instead of the actual 3D object.
Seems that use of this method would require multiple exposures in order to recreate 3d as perceived in the finished hologram- as the CAD object on the LCD is rotated, the mirror at point #3 would have to change angle in order to change the incidence angle of the laser on the film.
This is nothing *really* new, except that it looks like they are using really large film plates and an LCD in place of the actual object.
Another (much more difficult) way to produce computer-generated holograms would require a huge amount of processing power. A standard hologram captures the interference pattern generated by the incidence of the object and reference light beams.
If a display existed with fine enough resolution to display such an interference pattern, a computer could conceivably generate realtime holographic displays by calculating the interference pattern for a particular scene. Would need a huge amount of processing power and display technology that's not quite commonplace just yet.
I kind of like this idea.
If a useful browser/email client were included
in flash, the computer would be instantly useful without installation of any O/S. Maybe this is what some people need- just pick up a cheap PC to use as a browser, no need for a HD, etc.
This could also be useful for initial net-based O/S installation or download. Having basic tools
available in ROM could ease a lot of tasks- include a browser, an FTP client, a telnet client, and disk partitioning/formatting software, for example.
In a way, this brings back ideas from old personal computers. Old machines often had BASIC in ROM- you could use the machine with no storage and no preload of software.
I've had this problem for a while with many versions of Evolution when pulled via Red Carpet.
/usr/bin/gnome-gtkhtml-editor showed that
/var/cache/redcarpet/packages/libgtkhtml9-0.9.2-xi mian.5.i586.rpm
Problem seems to be with the gnome-gtkhtml-editor
binary.
rpm -q -f
there were TWO packages installed that provided this
binary:
gtkhtml-0.15.0-ximian.2.i586.rpm
libgtkhtml9-0.9.2-ximian.5.i586.rpm
Solution: Remove both of the above packages:
rpm -e gtkhtml-0.15.0
rpm -e libgtkhtml9-0.9.2
Now reinstall 0.15.0 from Red Carpet's package
cache:
rpm -Uvh
Message composition now works.
BTW, the above box runs Mandrake 8.0; I'm not sure
if the above discrepancy is due to many previous
versions of Evolution being installed or due to
broken/duplicate dependancies for Mdk 8.0...
Try chmod go+rx /home.
That fixed this problem for me.
If you have a Sprint TP2200 (and probably other touchpoint models), try this:
##33284 (scroll down to SAVE)
select SERVICE SCREEN and hit Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the
debug screen.
Last two lines are labeled LT and LG- those are
the lat/lng of the cell your phone is talking to.
Don't know how accurate it is; the cell my phone
picks up at home is (according to these numbers)
in the middle of the Detroit River.
uhh... you thinking puffins, maybe?
$125 for three switches, an Rpak, and a connector?
Wow, that seems steep considering the cost of the
parts.
I've modified a couple of Athlon 500s (which both
turned out to actually be 650's based on the legend on the chip itself) to overclock at 750.
It just involves moving a few SMT resistors. This
board just gives you easier access to selections that are already possible.
What's this 300bps? Hah, what luxury!
BBSs were much more fun on a 110bps teletype!
Uhh, wrong author... that was Phillip K. Dick.
Wow... SERIOUS logic error in that post.
!a implies b.
But !b, therefore a.
The argument ignores multiple possible causes of b.
A parallel argument would be:
If I'm not blind, then I can see my hand.
But I can't see my hand.
Therefore I must be blind.
Flawed logic, isn't it?
As if the username password stuff wasn't bad enough...
They sent me the spam about the free e-mail account, complete with a username/password for a domain that I have nothing to do with!
The domain was sodergren2-dom; I'm not in any of the contact information for this domain. I have nothing to do with this domain. The only connection is that I share a last name with this domain.
Don't they know how to utilize their own whois database? Maybe copyright issues prevent them from using it...
I think that many religious people misinterpret the standpoint of many atheists- atheism only indicates that a belief is not present; it does not indicate a belief in the absence of something.
'Lack of belief in xxx' does not equal 'belief in the lack of xxx'.
In a book on atheism that I recently read, the
author points out that all children are atheists
when born- not because of refusal to believe in one thing or another, but because they do not yet have the experiences on which to base theistic beliefs.
Maybe it's good if PCs have souls.
Then the lot of 'em can get sent straight to hell.
I've often thought that mine deserves fiery damnation...
Strange, the claim that this device is first.
Even the device number is strangely similar to
AMD's SC400, which is a 486-100 core with all
typical motherboard peripherals on-board (minus
memory). BTW, the SC400 does run linux nicely.
Maybe the new National chip contains a higher level of integration than previous devices, but it's still hardly the 'first'. What about National's previous attempt at this sort of thing, which was based on a 486 core and lacked an MMU,
if I recall correctly.
Al Gore would be the worst imaginable president?
I can think of worse; the name Pat Robertson comes to mind.
Don't take this to mean I like Gore- I won't vote for him. But most of the points in these articles are nonsense.
Actually, environmental issues would be one of the first things I look at in a candidate's platform, but I think Gore's full ignorance and hot air on this one. But attempting to discredit someone with a pro-environment standpoint by pointing out that the Unabom suspect held similar views is absurd; that would be like trying to discredit all libertarians based on what McVeigh (supposedly) did, or all Christians based on those involved in womens' clinic attacks.
As far as Gore's technical savvy, I think he more or less thoroughly discredited himself in this area long ago.
I wonder who the Natural Law party will put in the race? How about the Libertarians? It's a shame that we tend to think that there are only two real choices, two that invariably turn out to be slightly different flavors of the same pile of trash.
This thing is based on an AMD Elan SC400...
these are also available in a 100MHz version,
drop-in compatible (err, solder-in...)
Additionally, the 66MHz version can be overclocked
by setting some bits in an internal register; it'll do 100MHz, but it might not be reliable.
The whole CPU uses a single 32KHz crystal; all
operating clocks are created by internal PLLs.
It's really a nice chip; more or less an AT-
motherboard on a single BGA device.